Evolving Hearts
by chelsXXchels
Summary: 2 more weeks and I'll be back in England. I missed magic, I missed my friends, I missed Hogwarts. I even missed… him. More than ever, I felt like I didn't belong here. I wondered, however, how things would be different this year. When I returned, what would have changed? I knew it would it would be many things… 6th year; Draco or Fred/OC eventually; SEQUEL TO CROSSING HEARTS!
1. 1: Just Two More Weeks

**A/N: This is a sequel to my story Crossing Hearts! (Which you can find on my profile). You can probably read this one without reading Crossing Hearts, but there will be references back to the first story. I hope you enjoy! Please review!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything in the HP universe; Taylor is my only creation.

* * *

 **Evolving Hearts**

 **Just Two More Weeks**

His lips pressed firmly against mine, only lightening so his tongue could brush my lips and then venture into my mouth. My hair was pulled gently by the hand he had tangled up in my long strands and his other hand pulled impatiently on my waist. I pulled away from him for a moment, hesitating once again in the middle of kissing him.

"Come on…" his voice was low and gravelly as he pulled my body toward his.

I gave in to his kiss and shut my eyes. _We were just having fun_ , like we'd told each other several times. _Lighten up_.

I was thinking about Draco's advice from earlier in our relationship and his words, as they had every time I was in this position, rang through my head, _"…It's okay to live in the moment every now and then."_

* * *

Reaching the last of the stairs on his front porch, I picked up my pace to hurry the few yards over to my own as I watched Deacon's parents pull into their driveway. I walked into my own house and headed to the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing a water bottle. Looking back, I wasn't sure exactly how the whole situation with Deacon had initially escalated. I returned home from Hogwarts in the middle of June and began hanging out with Deacon effortlessly as we always had. Kissing Deacon hadn't been planned… I had been thinking about Draco. I felt bad, I knew Deacon always had a small crush on me, but he knew I was going back to school abroad.

I opened the water and heard a rustling noise that distracted me from my thoughts. A brown owl was settling down on the kitchen counter next to our sink. After my first two weeks back, my father complained endlessly about the neighbors being able to see the owls peck at our kitchen window and I laughed, mentally comparing him to the stories Harry told me about his uncle. Since then, we kept the window half open so the owls could fly right in.

I reached the owl, untying the small letter from its leg and placing it on the counter. As I did this, I noticed a copy of the Daily Prophet folded up near the canister I was reaching for. I grabbed a handful of pellets from the canister and placed them on the counter in front of the owl and grabbed the paper, realizing it must have come earlier this morning while my mother was leaving for work. As soon as I got home from Hogwarts, I wrote a letter to the Daily Prophet office, asking for papers to be sent to me and sending payments back with the owls as they were. Due to the owls' travel time, I received the papers about a week late, but it didn't bother me – it's not like I was reading them for real news. Mostly, I scanned them to read if anyone I knew had been arrested or if anything was published about Harry or Voldemort; I also scanned for the name Malfoy.

Flipping the paper open, the front headline read: "SCRIMGEOUR APPOINTED NEW MINISTER OF MAGIC." I had seen Fudge's resignation (forced or voluntary) coming for the past month. I skimmed the article and then flipped through the remaining pages, nothing particularly catching my interest. I tossed the paper over into the trashcan – I always made sure to throw the papers away as soon as I was done with them so my father wouldn't find them. I was almost completely honest with my mother about the past year. We talked about Harry and Voldemort, and she knew Harry and I were friends. She didn't, however, know that I had snuck into the Department of Mysteries with Harry and my friends at the end of the last school year. I left these pieces out so that she would have no reasons to deny my returning to Hogwarts. During one of our discussions, though, my father had grown horrified at the mention of "dark wizards" and then questioned what kind of place I was going to school in. I really didn't need him finding an issue of the Prophet that reported another killing or arrest and freaking out; I didn't doubt that he would forbid me to return to Hogwarts.

I opened the letter the owl had just delivered and immediately recognized Hermione's neat handwriting. She was asking about when I'd be returning to England. For the past month, I received plenty of letters from Hermione, some from Harry and a couple from Ron. I opened the drawer in the kitchen that kept spare pens and paper and scrawled a quick note back to Hermione. The note included my flight date, arrival time and that I'd be staying at the Weasleys until school started – which Ron had already okay'ed in a previous letter. I ended the letter asking her if everything was still okay on her end and then attached it to the owl's leg in place of the one she'd written. I petted the owl and then it hopped up onto the window sill and took flight. Grabbing the letter from Hermione off the counter, I threw it in to the trashcan with the Prophet.

 _2 more weeks_ , I thought, _and I'll be back in England._ I missed magic, I missed my friends, I missed Hogwarts and the classes. I even missed… him. More than ever, I felt like I didn't belong here. I wondered, however, how things would be different this year. When I returned, what would have changed? I knew it would it would be many things…

A shrill noise caused me to jump and I looked over at the telephone attached the wall in my kitchen. I picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"About time," a raspy voice sounded impatient on the other line, "I've been calling your house all afternoon. Were you at Deacon's?"

I sighed, "Sorry, Lauren."

"That wasn't an answer."

"Yes, I was," I replied, rolling my eyes. Lauren was spending most of the summer with her dad in Austin and I was positive that her not being here played in to me and Deacon progressing our friendship. While on one hand it would have been nice to spend time with my old friend over the summer, I was also okay with her distance because it made my double life easier.

"Whatever, I was just calling to tell you that I'll be back next week so we have to do something before you leave the next week."

"Okay, we will," I assured her, "Bye Lauren."

I hung up the phone and sighed deeply. _Two more weeks_ , I thought again.

* * *

By the time my father got home that evening, my mother and I were already setting the table for dinner. My father came in and sat down silently, as was becoming much more normal for him. Since overhearing my mom and I's many conversations about the wizarding world, he grew more withdrawn from us. I think he was nervous to talk to us, nervous of what else he might learn about a world he didn't understand, a world that frightened him.

"Did you remember," my mother spoke as she sat down at the table, "to take the morning off when Taylor flies out?"

"Oh…" my father spoke and cleared his throat, "About that, it's been really busy at work and I'm not going to be able to go… But no worries, I'll wake up early and say goodbye."

I smiled, not taking it personally. "That's all right, dad," I reassured him. I knew it was an excuse because it was uncomfortable for him to think of his only daughter flying off to another continent to attend a school he couldn't even visually see in order to study magic.

My mother took a deep breath and I looked over at her. Her lips were drawn into a straight line as she looked at my father. _Just two more weeks._


	2. 2: The Burrow

**The Burrow**

I followed Mr. Weasley and Ron into their home. They had picked me up from the airport and were fascinated by their surroundings. Last year I didn't have the opportunity to interact with Mr. Weasley much because of his injury, but now I was able to realize how joyful of a man he was; he never grunted or grumbled like my father, instead he was smiling and inquisitive – full of questions about the airplane I'd flown on.

Their home was truly a magical place. The house itself was obviously held up by magic; it looked like separate and random floors stacked up on top of each other. In Mrs. Weasley's kitchen, things floated around by themselves, similarly to the way they had at Grimmauld Place last Christmas break.

"Taylor dear," I heard the familiar and sweet voice of Mrs. Weasley, "so happy you made it here safely." She wrapped her arms around me into a tight hug.

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley, it's good to see you," I spoke.

She pulled away from me and looked over at her husband and Ron, "How was the trip?"

"Excellent," Mr. Weasley's voice sounded utterly jubilant, "Muggle airports are brilliant."

"Dad was obviously very interested," Ron added.

"Oh, well that's good," Mrs. Weasley turned away and went back to watching over the self-washing dishes, "Taylor, you'll be staying in Ginny's room with her, Fleur and Hermione. It'll be a tight squeeze, but we put a couple of cots up in there earlier."

My eyebrows drew together slightly at the thought of staying with Ginny, thinking about how she might act towards me, but I dismissed the thought quickly so Mrs. Weasley wouldn't think the tight sleeping arrangements bothered me. "That will be perfect! Thank you for letting me stay here," I told her while also looking over to Mr. Weasley.

"Anytime, dear," Mrs. Weasley turned back towards me, "I can imagine that it must be hard with your parents being so far away. So really, anything you need."

I smiled at her. At that moment, a door opened and I felt more arms wrapping around me.

"Taylor!" it was Hermione.

"Hi Hermione," I greeted my friend in return as she pulled away from me.

"I'm so excited you're finally back. I was going to go with Ron and his father to the airport but Ginny begged me to stay back with her so she wouldn't be," she had been speaking quickly but stopped abruptly and then dropped to a whisper, "so she wouldn't be here alone with Fleur." Hermione followed her words with a roll of her eyes. "But Harry will be here tomorrow and our OWL results should be coming any day now as well! Then we can pick which classes we'll be continuing with, so exciting!"

I smiled at her as she rambled, getting excited about school. I was anxious to get my OWL results as well, but in all honesty I hadn't thought about it for most of the summer.

"Geez, Hermione" Ron moaned, "Do you have to talk about OWL scores _again_?" Hermione had only arrived one day prior, and I smiled at the thought of how much she probably already agitated Ron with talk of school over his summer break.

"Taylor, dear," I looked over at Mrs. Weasley as Hermione shot Ron a glare, "It's late so you missed supper, but I saved you a plate in case you were hungry."

I smiled appreciatively. My flight had gone straight through most of the day and I hadn't eaten in hours. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Weasley!" I beamed at her.

"Absolutely no problem at all dear," with a flick of her wand, a plate floated from the counter and on to the table. I sat down and began to eat the buttered potatoes and baked ham, grateful to have real food.

Ron walked out of the room and Mrs. Weasley followed, asking questions about where his father had gone. Hermione sat down next to me as I ate.

"So?" she asked coyly.

I raised an eyebrow at her in between bites of food, "So?"

"How was your summer?"

"Oh," I took a break to eat another forkful of potatoes, "It went well. Not very eventful or anything." Hermione nodded, but she didn't look pleased with my answer. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked.

"I'm not looking at you like anything!" Hermione shot back defensively.

"Yes, yes you are. You're looking at me as though you're disappointed because I didn't say what you wanted to hear," I cocked an eyebrow at her.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked at me for a moment and I wondered what she could possibly be thinking about. "How are you?" she asked tentatively, "After, you know, everything from last year?" I looked away from her, wondering if she was referring to the Department of Mysteries or Draco. "I know things ended weirdly between the two of you," she added, clarifying her questions for me.

I bit the inside of my lip for a second. "I'm… fine," I looked back at her, "It was months ago, over with now." I nodded as I spoke and felt like maybe I was trying to convince myself of my own words.

"Well, it's been a whole summer and there's so many other things going on… I'm sure you won't have to worry about people saying things anymore," Hermione's tone was optimistic.

"I know," I smiled, but that wasn't my concern any longer. When school ended I was still receiving a few jabs every now and then, but they decreased greatly after the incident at the Department of Mysteries. If I still faced a few when we returned to Hogwarts, I'd be fine, I'd already faced the harshest days. "I guess…" I spoke without really planning to, "I guess it's seeing him that I'm more concerned about." Hermione nodded. "Obviously nothing with happen between us, and I don't think I would even want it to again, but I'm nervous."

"That's understandable," Hermione's voice was quiet as I began putting potatoes in my mouth so she wouldn't expect me to speak much more. She was looking at me, her eyebrows drawn together, clearly concerned.

I swallowed a bite of food. "Save that look for Harry when he gets here," I said, my voice sounding more bitter than I meant. Hermione's head jerked a little and I felt the need to recover the situation. "Besides," I took on a more jovial tone, "it's not like I spent the entire summer alone."

A smile spread across Hermione's face, "Oh? You met someone?"

I shook my head, "No. An old friend and I just had some fun, nothing serious."

"How did he feel about you leaving?" she asked.

I took a deep breath. "Well," I started, remembering how my summer in America had ended, "I think he thought I would change my mind and stay. Not necessarily because of him, but because the reason I gave everyone for leaving last year was that I just needed to get away for a while after my grandmother passed. Then when he asked about calling or writing… I think his feelings got a little hurt."

"What reason did you give him for not being able to write or call you?" Hermione questioned me curiously.

"I told him it would be easier if he just didn't," I put the last bite of ham in my mouth, remembering Deacon's face as I had told him he shouldn't worry about calling or writing me.

"Do you like him?"

I paused for a moment. Did I like Deacon? Of course, he was my childhood best friend. But did I like him in the way Hermione meant? "It was more… fun," I said, feeling guilty.

One of the corners of Hermione's mouth raised into a small half-smile. "Well," she started, sounding a little mischievous, "I think it was probably good for you to go home and have some fun for the break."

I knew Hermione was mostly just happy because I'd done something other than pine away after Draco all summer, but I liked that she was happy for me none-the-less.

"How are Fred and George? I never heard anything else after you said they were opening the joke shop," I asked, poking a potato with my fork.

"Ron says really well," Hermione shrugged, "And they must be. They moved out and into a flat above the shop in Diagon Alley." I smiled, happy for them and their success. As I played with my potatoes for a few more moments, I found myself wondering how else Fred had spent his past month since I'd seen him last. There had been several occasions over the summer in which I'd thought about Fred's company, longing for his frequent jokes and light hearted attitude.

I finished the last of my potatoes as I asked Hermione about her summer and she shared about the vacation she'd taken with her parents to France and then, after cleaning my plate off, we went up to Ginny's room. Ginny wasn't in there and Hermione explained that Fleur was Bill's insufferable fiancé, and Mrs. Weasley kept asking Ginny to help her with things so Mrs. Weasley wouldn't have to be with Fleur alone. I hadn't meant to, but I fell asleep quickly on my cot before either of them came back and while Hermione was still awake, reading and occasionally talking.

* * *

"Taylor," my shoulder was being shaken as I drifted into consciousness, " _Taylor._ Harry is here!"

My eyes opened and I saw Hermione was standing over me, eagerly trying to wake me. Clearly, Hermione hadn't yet tired of waking me up early in the mornings. I sat up, yawning, and Hermione was already walking towards the door and calling back for me to follow her. Standing, I grew more and more excited to see Harry as I woke up. I followed the direction Hermione had skipped off to – up the stairs and down a short hallway – and knew which door to walk through because I could hear her firing off questions.

"What did you do? How was it?" I walked in as Ron was interrupting Hermione and telling her to let Harry breathe.

"Harry!" I called out upon seeing my friend for the first time in weeks. I happily hugged Harry and he returned it, holding on for a short moment. I stepped back and saw that Hermione was standing nearby, expectantly still waiting for answers.

"We just went to an old professor's house so Dumbledore could convince him to go back to Hogwarts," Harry began explaining, and I realized that Dumbledore must have picked him up from the Dursley's, "Professor Slughorn. He eventually agreed, so I'm sure he'll be the new Defense professor."

I snorted instinctively and the three of them turned to stare at me, "Sorry, just hoping he's better than the last."

"Dumbledore also told me that I'll be receiving private lessons from him this year," Harry continued. _Private lessons?_ I wondered what for. As if he knew we were all questioning it, Harry went on to explain. "Last year… last year in the Department of Mysteries, Voldemort was after the prophecy about us. Dumbledore explained it to me at the end of last term."

"He did?" Hermione's voice was high pitched, "You didn't tell us."

"I couldn't yet," Harry explained, "I needed time to think about it myself. Because, well because it basically said that Voldemort chose me. The prophecy stated that the one with the ability to defeat Voldemort would be born at the end of July and that we… one of us 'must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives'."

I lump grew in my throat.

"So when Voldemort attacked you as a baby…" Hermione was clearly piecing the puzzles together.

"He marked me as his equal, as the one with the abilities to destroy him."

"But that means in order for Voldemort to die," Ron's voice sounded lost, "you have to kill him?" Harry nodded slowly.

"And then…" I started speaking, "in order for Voldemort to regain full power, he must…" I couldn't finish the sentence.

"Kill me."

It was silent for a long moment and I bit my lip nervously. When had Dumbledore told him this? Obviously after Sirius died but just how long had Harry been dealing with Sirius's death as well as this?

"I always figured this was coming," Hermione's voice was quiet.

"But that's why Dumbledore wants to have lessons with me," Harry went on, "So he can prepare me." I felt myself nodding but for no real reason. I needed something physical to do while I absorbed the information. Looking at Harry, I could tell he was uncomfortable revealing the prophecy to us, but also slightly relieved. "Also," Harry added, "Dumbledore said our OWL scores would be here today."

I smiled, knowing instantly Harry only said what he had in order to switch our attention elsewhere.

"OWLs!" Hermione screamed and she turned to run from the room.

Ron, Harry, and I followed her down the stairs and towards the Weasley's kitchen, I was still filled with dread from Harry's revelation. As I walked, however, my attention drifted to just how much the Weasley's home still fascinated me – everything had a magical twist in some way like Hogwarts did.

"They're all here!" I heard Hermione yell before we even reached the kitchen door.

I walked into the kitchen and saw a small stack of envelopes sitting on the table. Hermione already had hers open and was studying it intensively. Harry and Ron grabbed theirs, leaving mine alone. I took it, inhaling deeply.

 _Miss Randall,_ I skimmed quickly down to the bottom portion of the letter.

 _You have received an OWL with an OUTSTANDING score in the following subject areas:_

 _ASTRONOMY_

 _CHARMS_

 _HERBOLOGY_

 _POTIONS_

 _STUDY OF ANCIENT RUNES_

 _TRANSFIGURATION_

 _You have received an OWL with an EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS score in the following subject areas:_

 _CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES_

 _DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS_

 _HISTORY OF MAGIC_

 _You have received an OWL with an ACCEPTABLE score in the following subject areas:_

 _ARITHMANCY_

I rolled my eyes as I read the last one, not one bit surprised. Taking that class had been a mistake and extremely difficult and unenjoyable, but at least I'd passed. _Ten OWLs_. I smiled to myself, pleased with my results. Folding the letter back up, I listened to Hermione complain about receiving all Outstanding scores with the exception of Defense Against the Dark Arts and learned that Harry had received an Outstanding in that subject. Ron groaned a little at his scores, and I made a mental note to ask him more about his scores later.

Hermione began asking which classes I was going to continue with and I was pleased that I didn't have to make any sacrifices based on scores. Looking at Harry's disappointed facial expression, however, I thought that might not be the case for him. I felt a pang of guilt, _was Harry even worrying about classes with everything else he had going on?_

I asked Ron for a piece of parchment paper so I could write my mother. She may not understand what all the classes were about, but I knew she would be proud to learn that I passed all of my end of year exams. Maybe she could even share that news with my father without upsetting him.

The next few days passed quickly and enjoyably – with Quidditch in the field by the Burrow, delicious home-cooked meals by Mrs. Weasley, visits from various members of the Order, and late nights and long talks with my friends. With each day, I grew more thankful that I'd been able to convince my mother to let me fly back to England earlier than necessary so I could spend time with the Weasleys and Hermione and Harry.

Eventually, there were only a handful of days left before we returned to Hogwarts and we received our book lists in the mail. With those, Harry also learned he would be Quidditch Captain upon our return. Mrs. Weasley decided we needed to make a trip to Diagon Alley to shop for school supplies and with that, for the first time, I would be travelling through Floo Powder. Standing in the Weasley's living room, Mrs. Weasley explained how the process worked and a nervous feeling was growing in my stomach; not because I was afraid of the Floo Network, but because I was happy to be going shopping for school supplies so I could return to Hogwarts.


	3. 3: Diagon Alley

**Diagon Alley**

Walking down Diagon Alley, I was too focused on the sick, queasy feeling in my stomach to fully notice how different my surroundings were from the first time I visited.

"Whoa," it was Ron's voice that eventually made me look around. The street was essentially deserted, with a few booths erected here and there selling random "protective" products. Shop windows were covered in Ministry papers detailing how to stay safe as well as wanted posters of Death Eaters at large, and a few papers even floated around in the wind. Some of the stores had boards over the doors and windows, clearly closed. Only a handful of people scurried about the street from shop to shop. My hand raised from my stomach which I had been rubbing to ease the nausea that had come with traveling via Floo Network and went to my mouth, covering it in shock.

"Come along now," I heard Mr. Weasley's voice shuffling me, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Harry along, "Hagrid, why don't you go ahead and take a group to get robes and I can go to the bookstore."

I looked over at Hagrid who had joined us on our trip for extra protection. "Of course, which of yeh is needing robes?" Hagrid looked at us while he asked.

"I do," I took a step towards Hagrid while watching Harry, Hermione and Ron walk over too. I'd grown about an inch and a half since last year, making the robes I bought last August in Diagon Alley with Hagrid just a tad too short.

The five of us made our way to Madam Malkin's while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walked in the direction of a bookstore with Ginny. Reaching Madam Malkin's, Hagrid decided it would be best if he waited outside for us due to his size and the four of us walked in. Immediately, I heard a stern voice.

"…not a child, in case you haven't noticed, Mother. I am perfectly capable of doing my shopping _alone_ ," it was Draco's familiar drawl.

I stopped dead in my tracks and took a deep breath while I heard Madam Malkin reply to him, "Now, dear, your mother's quite right, none of us is supposed to go wandering around on our own anymore, it's nothing to do with being a child."

As she spoke, I saw a figure emerge from behind a rack. Tall, blonde, pointed features and grey eyes. He stood in front of the mirror, examining himself in his pinned up robes. I watched him, his movements careful and calculated, and felt my mouth going dry. It was a moment before I could see his eyes narrow in the mirror and notice me, Harry, Hermione and Ron standing in the entrance of the shop. In one swift motion, Draco turned around and was staring at us. It wasn't a long, thoughtful stare like the ones I was used to receiving in the Clock Tower or by the lake; instead, this stare was hard and set, focused on Harry.

"Malfoy," Harry spoke his name as a bitter greeting. I gulped and eventually Draco's eyes moved over and saw me as well. Quickly, he looked away from me and at Ron and Hermione.

"Who blacked your eye, Granger? They might deserve a 'thank you'," his voice was harsh and jeering and my stomach flipped. I wasn't used to Draco speaking this way to my friends in front of me.

"No, don't, it isn't worth it," I heard Hermione speak and looked down, noticing that Harry and Ron had their wands drawn.

"Put those away," I heard a cold voice and looked up. A tall woman with long blonde hair had strolled out from behind the rack and was standing next to Draco; without a doubt I knew this was Mrs. Malfoy. "If you attack my son again, I shall ensure that it is the last thing you ever do."

"Really?" Harry shot back as he stepped forward towards Mrs. Malfoy, "Going to get a few of your Death Eater pals to do us in, are you?"

" _Harry_ ," I said quietly, trying to calm him down. His wand was still drawn.

"I see that being Dumbledore's favorite has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter," a wicked grin spread across Mrs. Malfoy's face, "But Dumbledore won't always be there to protect you."

"Well look at that! He's not here now!" Harry was clearly mocking the woman and my heart was now racing, "So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!"

Draco jumped and made a lunge towards Harry, but tripped over a part of his robe that had become unpinned. "Don't you dare talk to my mother like that, Potter!" Draco yelled angrily while Ron laughed at the sight of him tripping.

"It's all right, Draco," her voice was calm and she rested a hand on his shoulder, "I expect Potter will be reunited with dear Sirius before I am reunited with Lucius."

With that, I saw Harry raise his wand even higher and grew worried about what he would do. At the same time, Hermione and I both took a step and reached for Harry's arm. "Don't… Is it worth the trouble you'll be in?" I pleaded.

"I don't think I want these anymore," I looked over at Draco after he spoke and for a small moment, his eyes met mine. They were narrowed and glaring, his nose crinkled up. He looked… disgusted.

"You're right, Draco. Now I know the kind of scum that shops here," Mrs. Malfoy agreed. Draco threw the robes off and they landed in a heap on the ground. Together, they strode out of the shop without a single look back.

I took a deep breath, trying to slow my heart rate. Harry walked off towards the back of the store and when I went to follow, I noticed that Hermione hadn't yet moved. Instead, she was looking at me. Her face was one of concern, like it had frequently been last year, and I smiled at her before following Harry to the back of the shop. It was hard to see Draco in that state because I had seen a better side of him, but in my heart I knew that was the only state I was likely to see him in ever again.

An hour later, we walked out of the shop, each with a bag of robes. We made our way down the street towards the bookstore Ginny and her parents had gone in to meet with them. When we found them, they all had bags of books and I realized they had also purchased my books so I wouldn't have to go back into the store. I tried to give them coins for the books then, but they wouldn't take them. I made a mental note to leave them in the Burrow somewhere before I left for Hogwarts.

We made stops in the Apothecary, where I bought bottles and tubes and jars and mugs of various ingredients I would need for Potions, and also the Owl Emporium, where Ron and Harry bought food for their owls. After we finished there, Mr. Weasley said we would make a quick stop by Fred and George's shop. I learned that none of the Weasleys had seen the store yet, which I thought was a little weird given how close knit the Weasley clan was, but seeing the current state of Diagon Alley, I wasn't entirely surprised. I fidgeted with the bags in my hands as we walked, replaying the encounter with Draco in my mind. Specifically, the look Draco had given me before him and his mother left. Maybe if I focused on the look enough, seeing Draco this next year wouldn't be as difficult.

" _Whoa…_ " I heard Ron's voice express his surprise for the second time in our trip and I looked up and felt my jaw drop. The store in front of me was nothing like those surrounding it. Full of bright colors, the windows displayed various products that squealed and flickered. One of the windows had a large poster on it with flashing letters: WHY ARE YOU WORRYING ABOUT YOU-KNOW-WHO? YOU SHOULD BE WORRYING ABOUT U-NO-POO – THE CONSTIPATION SENSTATION THAT'S GRIPPING THE NATION!

I found myself laughing as I heard Mrs. Weasley gasp, "They'll be murdered in their beds!"

I cringed slightly at her concern, but I was so happy to see something bright and fun in the now-gloomy Diagon Alley. I followed Harry and Ron quickly in to the store. Inside, Weasley's Wizard Wheazes were even more impressive. Cases of Snackboxes were stacked to the ceiling and the shelves were filled with trick wands, boxes of quills and fancy bottles with potions inside. There were people everywhere – mostly children – all in awe of their surroundings.

I walked with Hermione towards an area marked 'Patented Daydream Charms.' "You know," Hermione said as she looked at me with a gleam in her eye, "this really is extraordinary magic!"

"For that," a voice spoke behind me and caused me to jump, "you can have one for free." I turned around to see Fred beaming his characteristic grin at us. He was dressed much more colorfully than he ever had been at Hogwarts in a set of magenta robes. "America, I was wondering when I'd be getting to see you again," his eyebrows went up as he spoke to me.

"Hello, Fred," I responded joyfully, "Your store is… absolutely wonderful."

"Thank you," he continued to smile and looked over at Hermione, "Punching telescope?" He pointed towards her eye as he spoke, clearly referencing her black eye. She nodded and Fred reached into his pocket and handed her a small tub. "Dab it on, it'll be gone within an hour." Hermione screwed the lid off and eagerly rubbed a little on to her face. "Can I show you something?" I looked away from Hermione and towards Fred and realized he was speaking directly to me.

I turned back towards Hermione and she was smiling, still amused with the potions she was admiring I assumed, and motioned for me to go. "All right," I agreed. Fred turned and nodded his head slightly for me to follow. Fred moved through the crowd with grace, some visitors even moving out of his way gleefully. We walked passed the first row of shelves and towards the back of the store. We reached a door and Fred held up a finger as he went in and then emerged almost just as quickly, putting something away into his robes.

Being in the back of the store, the crowd was significantly smaller, so Fred didn't have to speak quite as loudly when he spoke this time, "Have a good break?" He started walking and I fell into step next to him as we strolled down an aisle.

"It wasn't bad. But, you know…" I shrugged, not actually knowing if he would understand what I meant.

Fred nodded, "Because you had to learn to fit back into the Muggle world for a month?"

"Yep," I sighed heavily, "and with my Muggle father."

"Yikes," his tone showed he was humored and I smiled.

"Of course _she's_ here…" I heard a girl's voice that I thought I recognized and looked up at the end of the aisle. Standing there was a girl I knew from school, a Gryffindor a year ahead of me who had taken to mocking me as much as she could, and two other girls. I didn't know for sure, but I was almost positive she was the one who had coined the term 'House Traitor.' "Was sort of hoping she'd decide Hogwarts wasn't the place for her."

I stopped walking and began fidgeting with my fingers. Fred had taken a few more steps before realizing I stopped and then looked back at me. He studied me for a minute and I grew embarrassed, so I looked down at the ground. I heard a couple of footsteps and then: "Excuse me, but if that's how you're going to speak about people – in your own house at Hogwarts – then you can shop elsewhere," Fred's voice was stern and I looked up. He was standing near the girls and they gawked at him in disbelief. When they didn't move, Fred raised a hand and motioned to the door. The girls turned and whispered to each other while they stormed towards the doors. Fred watched them leave and then turned around to walk back towards me. I looked back down as he stopped in front of me. "You just gotta ignore 'em," his voice was only half as upbeat as it usually was.

I gulped. "I know," I looked back up at him, "just easier said than done sometimes."

"Yeah," Fred agreed, "but just gotta remember, they're not nearly half as badass as you are." Fred cocked his head and raised an eyebrow while I shot back a confused look. _Badass? What was he talking about?_ "Ron told us how you all got into the Ministry and faced off against the Death Eaters. Part chivalrous, part reckless. _Very_ badass," he smiled as he spoke.

I laughed. "Suuure…" I dragged the word out, "Running around the Ministry until getting knocked unconscious. _Badass_."

"Eh, details," his eyes twinkled while he spoke to me, "Badass that you ran head first into danger."

I rolled my eyes, easily falling into the old routine of talking to Fred with ease. "Whatever you say, Fred," I said back to him. We stood there for a moment, Fred just smiling at me, before I remembered the reason I was with him in the first place. "Wait, what did you want to show me?" I questioned.

"Oh!" Fred's shoulders jumped with joy and then he reached into his robes, "I have something for you." He pulled out a cloth pouch that was pulled together with a drawstring at the top. Fred held it out towards me and I took it. Through the cloth, it felt like various objects were inside of the little bag. I looked up at Fred's face and noticed that it was a little more serious now. "It's just some of me and George's products… mostly the protective ones. Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, Decoy Detonators, Extendable Ears. Ya know, so you're more prepared if you decide to run off after any more dark wizards this year," he crossed his arms as he spoke.

I felt my head jerk a little bit in surprise. It was an unexpected gift, but welcomed and kind. "Thank you, Fred," I said, not really knowing what else to say, "I… I can buy them, you don't have to give them to me."

He shrugged and a smile grew back onto his face, "No need, you can have them."

I realized that I was smiling widely and looked down at the pouch. I felt around it for a few more seconds in my hands and then dropped it down into the Apothecary bag with all of my potions ingredients.

"Freddie!" I heard a voice similar to Fred's – George's – yelling in the distance.

"Looks like you're being paged, Mr. Store Owner," I looked back up at Fred. He was still smiling at me. "Thank you, again."

"Anytime, my little American," then Fred put his hand on my shoulder as we began to walk back towards the main portion of the store. When we reached the crowded area, Fred turned towards me. "I'll see you before you go back to school, but enjoy the rest of your break." He beamed a smile at me and then turned to walk towards his twin.

I watched him walk away for a moment and then turned and scanned the crowd, looking for Harry, Hermione or Ron. Not seeing them right away, I walked along the edge of the crowd, scanning the items on the shelves. My two bags from the Apothecary and Madam Malkin's were growing heavy and I wondered where my friends had gone.

"Taylor," I jumped as I heard my name. Looking over, Hermione was now standing next to me, "Come on." She turned and I followed her through the crowd. The rest of our group was standing near the door and upon reaching them, everyone turned to head out. Hermione was walking slowly and I had to deliberately slow my pace in order to stay next to her. After a few moments, I noticed that Ron and Harry were also walking with us and that maybe they were doing it on purpose.

"What's going on?" I looked to my right at Harry and Hermione.

"Well…" Hermione started, "we may have wondered off from Fred and George's under Harry's invisibility cloak."

My head cocked to the side, "You did?"

"We followed Malfoy when we saw him walking off alone, all the way to Borgin and Burke's," Harry's eyebrows were drawn together while he spoke.

I looked away while I listed to Harry talk about hiding and watching Draco threaten the man in the store in order to keep something safe. Harry believed the man promised secrecy because Draco showed him a Dark Mark, but there was no proof. Hermione had tried to act as a customer to get information but the man kicked her out and they returned to the shop. How had I not noticed their absence for so long?

"Why didn't you take me with you?" I turned back to Harry, interrupting his rant about Draco being a Death Eater.

Harry stopped speaking abruptly. "Hermione and Ron were standing right there, I – I didn't know where you were," he explained.

"I looked around for you and then had to run to catch back up to Harry and Hermione because I'd figured you'd want to tag along," Ron spoke on my other side, "I had no idea where you'd wondered off to, though."

I bit the inside of my lip, replaying what Harry had said. Draco showed the man something that scared him but there was no way I could imagine Draco being a Death Eater. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude" I apologized finally, "I was talking to Fred."

Looking over, I could see Harry nod in acceptance of my apology and Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"It's all right," Harry started speaking again, "Besides, all that matters now is we have proof that Malfoy is a Death Eater."

" _Harry,_ " Hermione stressed his name.

"What? You don't think so?" Harry's voice sounded incredulous and Hermione gave him a sympathetic look.

Instead of waiting for Hermione to speak, I went ahead: "No, I don't. I know it seems like it but… He's sixteen, Harry, I just don't think he is." I heard Ron and Hermione make noises in agreement with me.

Harry opened his mouth to argue back but Hermione cut him off, "Seriously, Harry, let it go." Harry grunted and sped up to walk in front of us and I could see out of the corner of my eye Hermione shaking her head at him. Hermione and Ron returned their paces to normal and I continued to walk in between them. We walked for a minute in silence and I wondered what reason Draco might have had for visiting Borgin and Burke's. Maybe he was trading in something of his father's? Eventually, my thoughts were interrupted and I decided to stop thinking of Draco and listened as Ron started complaining about Fred and George making him pay full price for their products and Hermione receiving a potion for free. I bit my lip and gripped my bag with the pouch Fred had given me in it tighter, feeling a little guilty about receiving the products for free. When Fred had given me the gift earlier I had thought it was too nice, but now I wondered why when he didn't even let his own brother receive a discount.

I took a deep breath and exhaled heavily as we reached the end of our walk. _Too many questions_ , I thought and I realized that I might never get answers to some of them. I decided that I couldn't dwell on Draco forever and that for today, I would give myself a time limit to contemplate his actions and decisions; therefore, when we reached the Burrow and knowing my time was up, I jumped into the first conversation I heard, volunteered to help Mrs. Weasley with cleaning and dinner that evening, and busied myself so my mind couldn't wander.


	4. 4: While You're at Hogwarts

**While You're at Hogwarts**

Reaching up, I grabbed the top of my trunk and closed it gently. _Finally_ , I thought, _almost done_. Tomorrow I would be boarding the Hogwarts Express so I decided I would attempt to fold all of my clothes and figure out how to fit them along with my several books inside of my trunk. I opened the trunk back up, relieved that I'd finally gotten my books and clothes to fit with enough spare room to still put in the potions book Hermione had given me for my last birthday, a small zippered bag with pencils and my sketchpad, and the cloth pouch Fred had given me a couple of days ago. I smiled to myself, impressed with my packing capabilities after Ron had teased that I'd never fit all of my clothes.

"All done!" I announced proudly and looked across the bed at Hermione who was still packing her trunk and Ginny who was laid across her bed.

"About time," Ginny looked over from her spot on her bed and rolled her eyes playfully. Spending the past couple of weeks at the Weasley household had eased the previous awkwardness between me and Ginny and I was grateful.

I hopped up on to the bed next to Ginny and watched Hermione, "Whatever, Hermione's not near done." Hermione grunted as she was re-folding most of her clothes. "You know," I was a little apprehensive about stating my suggestion out loud, "you really don't need all of your books from last term. Then everything would fit just fine."

Hermione grunted again. "I _know_ ," she sounded agitated and I flinched, "but I like to have them as reference points."

"In that case," Ginny spoke, "you can use mine any time you like!"

Hermione paused her folding for a moment, clearly thinking about Ginny's idea, and then continued. "No," she shook her head, "I just need to fold my clothes better and it will all fit perfectly."

I sighed deeply, of course Hermione wouldn't give in. "Well if you take much longer, we'll miss our going away dinner."

"Give me five more minutes!" it sounded like Hermione was getting annoyed by our teasing so I decided not to respond. Looking over, I could tell from Ginny's expression that she had a similar thought. I played with the edge of the light pink quilt on top of Ginny's bed while we waited and eventually, much longer than five minutes later, I heard the loud thud of Hermione closing her trunk definitively. "Told you two I could get it all to fit," Hermione looked smug as she stood up, "Now, we should probably get downstairs before your mother starts calling for us." Hermione turned around and practically pranced out of the room.

I moved slowly, but eventually stood up and followed Hermione from Ginny's room. Through the kitchen door, I could hear Mrs. Weasley's voice giving orders to those already downstairs. Before I could walk through the door, Ron pushed it open with a grunt, carrying a pile of dirty towels. I grabbed the door before it slammed shut and entered the kitchen slowly. The air smelled of baked goods and chicken and it was hot from the steam rising from the stove.

"Taylor," I heard my voice and looked at Mrs. Weasley, "will you double check that the table outside is set for ten? Not sure if Ron heard correctly."

"Of course," I turned and walked through the doors that led out of the kitchen and into the yard. It was still light out, but I knew that once it started to get dark our dinner would be lit by magical lights. I counted the plates around the table and wondered who the ten people were since Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Harry and myself only made seven. Fleur had recently left for a few days to visit her family.

I turned when I heard the door to the backyard open and saw Mr. Weasley, Harry and Ron walking out with another man following them: Lupin. They were all wrapped up in conversation so I waited for them to clear the doorway and take seats at the table and then went back into the kitchen. As I did, I dodged various bowls and platters that floated out the door and to the table.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley smiled from her place by the stove and I saw Hermione and Ginny standing nearby, "supper is ready to be served. Apparently time means nothing to them so I guess we'll have to wait on – " A loud knock on the front door of the Burrow interrupted Mrs. Weasley's sentence, "There they are!" She rushed over to the front door and opened it, revealing two tall and identical red heads. "You were almost late!" Mrs. Weasley scolded as they walked into the house and I realized my heart was beating a little faster than usual.

"Sorry, mother, but we were working!" George explained as he and his twin hugged Mrs. Weasley before she went outside to make sure all the food made it to the table. "Excited to be heading back to school?" George looked at Hermione and Ginny who were still standing near the stove as he spoke. They responded, but I didn't hear what they said because instead I was focused on Fred as he walked towards me.

"Hello, there," his grin was smug as he came to a stop in front of me, "Glad to see you survived another week here with my mother."

"Of course I did!" I shot back defensively, but knowing that he was joking, "I like your mother."

"Even after she's forced you to help prepare numerous meals?"

I rolled my eyes, "It hasn't been bad."

Hermione, Ginny, and George walked passed us and as they did, George turned back towards me and Fred. "Better head out now. We were already a few minutes late, don't want her more angry," he advised. I followed him outside and to the table, taking a seat between Hermione and Harry and across from Ginny. I watched as Fred sat down next to Ginny and George took a seat further down the table. Hands instantly began reaching out for spoons and food laid out on the table. I put baked chicken, mashed parsnips, green beans, and potatoes on my plate and felt a tinge of sadness that this was my last meal at the Weasley's for a while.

"I'm probably most excited for Arithmancy, but really I'm looking forward to all of them," I looked over at Hermione as she spoke and drew my eyebrows together, wondering who had already started engaging her in conversation about school.

"Taylor," she turned towards me, "what about you?"

"I'm sorry," I started, "What about me?"

"Which class are you most excited to take at NEWT-level?" her voice carried a tone of incredulousness, as if she couldn't believe I didn't know what she was talking about.

"Oh, well… Potions, I suppose," I picked up my fork and began eating after answering her question.

"Not surprising," Hermione said once I finished and I was about to ask her what that meant when someone else spoke instead.

"Eager to spend more time with dear Professor Snape?" I looked over at Fred as he smiled at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Of course," I returned his look by raising one of my own eyebrows, "you caught me."

"You know," Hermione started in again, "Taylor received ten OWLs." It sounded almost as if Hermione was bragging, but she was talking about me. I looked at her, confused once again.

"So did you…" I added, unsure of why Hermione was telling everyone about my OWL scores.

"I _know_ ," Hermione gave me a look but I wasn't sure what it meant, "I was just saying." I could feel my eyebrows drawn together tightly as I looked over at her and she continued the look, but I never figured out what she meant before Ginny started talking about Quidditch.

Our meal continued as we talked about Quidditch, Harry's excitement about being Quidditch Captain, Fred and George's shop, and Ginny's love life upon request of her brothers. Once everyone was finished eating, Mrs. Weasley made the big bowls fly off to the kitchen and followed them in, Harry stood and walked away with Lupin and Mr. Weasley, and Ginny and Ron went off to get their brooms as she had challenged Ron to a race. Those remaining followed the siblings to the field to watch the race; I stood up from my seat and began stacking the plates left outside from dinner.

"If you wait," I heard a voice and looked over, realizing Fred was still sitting at the table and not walking towards the field his family played small Quidditch matches in, "my mum will summon them in magically."

I smiled and picked up another plate. "I know," I said, nodding my head, "but if I help out, then I don't feel as bad for staying here."

I watched him nod while he looked at me. "You know she doesn't mind you staying here, she loves being a hostess," he explained.

I shrugged, "Still makes me feel better."

Fred reached into his robe and pulled out his wand. With a small flick of his hand, the plates lifted up from my arm and began floating on their own towards the kitchen. I sighed and smiled slightly, "I didn't ask you for help."

Fred shrugged, "Makes me feel better." I shook my head in response to him mocking me and he spoke again. "Come on, we can watch Ginny kick Ron's ass at flying now." He stood up and motioned with his arm for me to walk first, so I did. Fred fell into step next to me. "Ten OWLs, huh? Quite the bookworm," he nudged my arm with his elbow as he spoke.

I rolled my eyes, "My scores weren't as good as Hermione's, not that impressive really."

"Whatever," he said, "no normal person scores as highly as Hermione. So still impressive." I laughed, agreeing a little with his sentiment. Most people weren't quite as obsessed with school and scores as Hermione. "Excited to return to Hogwarts, then? Since you're almost a genius and all," he looked down at me out of the corner of his eyes as he spoke.

I smiled thinking about Hogwarts. "I am… I mean, I really like staying here with your parents and I'll miss the past couple of weeks, but I am," I looked up at him and saw that he wasn't looking at me anymore. Instead, his eyes were on the ground in front of us. From the corner of my eye, I could see Fred's fingers moving and glanced down to see that he was fidgeting with his robes. Looking back up, I observed his face more closely. His eyes were squinted and his eyebrows drawn together. I realized this was a look I'd never seen on Fred before, a look that was almost… nervous.

Fred opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the sound of Ron's voice.

"Whatever! She's smaller, so she can fly faster! Who cares," I grimaced, realizing Ron must have lost the race. Ahead, Ron, Ginny, George, and Hermione were walking back towards us.

"Missed quite the race," George said as he passed me and Fred. I turned as they walked by us and followed them back to the house, listening to Ron and Ginny bicker the whole way. I stole another glance at Fred who had been silent since we'd met up with them and noticed his face was still set in a similar manner.

Reaching the house, I saw Harry sitting at the dinner table outside alone and George asked if Fred was ready to head out. "Remember," he explained, "the potion we mixed will only be good for another couple of hours."

I began to walk towards Harry while Fred agreed when I heard his voice call for me, "America!" I turned, wondering if he'd ever actually said my real name.

"Yes?" I asked as I took a few steps toward him.

"Uh… have a good term," I noticed he was still fidgeting a little with his robes and thought it was odd, "Maybe I'll see you over your winter break?"

I smiled at him, "I'm sure you will. See you soon."

"See you soon," Fred smiled and then turned, walking towards the house and his twin. It was an awkward departure, and I wasn't sure if I should have said something more or hugged Fred when he left.

I pushed the thought from my mind and turned back towards Harry. Hermione, Ron and Ginny were already sitting with him at the table so I joined them. For the next hour, we sat outside talking about returning to school. Most of the conversation was a little gloomy, as Harry's had apparently been with Lupin. When I arrived at the Burrow a couple of weeks ago, Hermione mentioned that even her muggle parents caught on to something being wrong in the wizarding world and that Mrs. Weasley had a fit about Ron and Ginny not needing to return. I wondered if there would be students absent this next school year and what Harry would be learning about in his private lessons with Dumbledore. Eventually, Mrs. Weasley came outside and rushed us all off to bed. Falling asleep that night was almost impossible and when I did, my dreams bounced around from ghosts to corridors filled with animated paintings and Quidditch matches.

Waking up the next morning was exciting. The return to Howarts was something I had been looking forward to for a couple of months and today was the day it was happening, and even the thoughts of Voldemort and Death Eaters couldn't ruin it for me. I changed into a lightweight sweatshirt and blue jeans for the journey to King's Cross and tossed my last minute items into my trunk. Mr. Weasley walked through the house saying he'd get our trunks downstairs so we wouldn't have to worry about it, so I skipped down to the kitchen for breakfast. While we ate, Mrs. Weasley spoke to us with caution about the upcoming school year – to stay out of trouble and not cause any problems – and I knew she was worried about her children returning to school and not being under her watchful eye where she could keep them safe.

I finished eating quickly, feeling a little guilty about my excitement to return while Mrs. Weasley was so clearly upset. I scooted my chair back from the table, thinking of an excuse to leave the room. "I'm going to check if I packed my toothbrush earlier," I explained as I stood up.

Entering the living room, I saw four trunks sitting near the fireplace. I walked over towards mine and sat on top of it, pulling my legs up into a criss-cross position while I waited for everyone else to finish in the kitchen. I picked at the lace on my shoe, thinking about the train ride. This time, I smiled to myself as I realized I wouldn't be alone while boarding. If I struggled with my trunk, I wouldn't have to rely on a stranger to help me, and I wouldn't have to walk up and down the train looking for a compartment to sit in. This time, I would have friends with me. A knocking noise interrupted my happy thoughts and I realized that someone must be at the front door. I heard Mrs. Weasley make a small fuss and wondered if Lupin had come to see Harry off. At that moment, the door from the kitchen opened and through walked someone I hadn't expected to see: Fred.

I tilted my head to the side while looking at him as he smiled at me from the doorway. "Forget something here last night?" I asked, trying to think of an explanation for his presence here so early in the morning.

The door closed behind him as he took long strides into the room toward me. "Um, I guess you could say that," he came to a stop in front of me and looked down at me curiously. "What are you doing in here by yourself?" After Fred finished his question, I realized I must look odd – sitting on top of my trunk in the position school-aged children sat on the carpets in their classroom.

"I…" I trailed off, not having a real reason for not being in the kitchen, "I guess I was just thinking about the day."

Fred nodded, accepting my answer. "You do that a lot, don't you?" he asked, smiling.

I bit my lip, wondering how many times people would tell me I was "thoughtful" as code for being strange and aloof. "I guess," I shrugged as I answered shyly.

He continued nodding for a moment longer and then held out his hand towards my trunk, "May I?"

I nodded, "Yeah." Fred sat down next to me on my trunk and I continued to wonder what he was doing. "So what did you forget here yesterday?" My body was facing his because of the direction I was sitting on my trunk, so I could fully watch his facial expressions.

He smiled and laughed a little, "I didn't forget anything." Fred looked over at me sheepishly and I grew confused.

"But you said…"

"I know what I said," he cut me off, "I stopped by to see you because I had a question for you last night but didn't ask."

I nodded, and for some reason felt playful in that moment. "Wanted to ask me to finish that American history lesson I tried to give you last year, didn't you?" I said, referring to a late night discussion in the Common Room.

"Got me," Fred rolled his eyes and I smiled, pleased with myself for saying something that amused him. I watched as he smiled for another moment and then took a deep breath. "Actually," he said with a little more seriousness in his voice and then looked over at me, his brown eyes meeting mine, "I wanted to ask if I could write to you, while you're at Hogwarts."

My head jerked instinctively and my heart jumped. _Write to me?_ It occurred to me now that this might have been the reason Fred was fidgeting with his robe last night but I noticed now that he seemed sure of himself and confident. "Uh," I started, looking for words. _Fred write to me?_ As I thought about it, I felt a smile spread across my face. Fred, who always made me laugh and looked out for me while he was at Hogwarts, was asking if he could write to me and I felt like an 18th century schoolgirl thinking about his wording of the question. "I… I would like that," I was smiling and I thought I should maybe attempt to hide it, but I didn't.

Fred's face transformed, his eyes lit up and his mouth grew into a wide grin. "Well," he spoke, causing more wrinkles to surround his mouth, "all right then."

"Come along!" the door from the kitchen creaked open and I jumped as I heard Mrs. Weasley walk through, "We don't have much time anymore!"

I blinked rapidly a few times and forced myself to look away from Fred. He stood up as I heard more footsteps and I kept my gaze down on my trunk so no one would see that I was blushing.

"Well," I heard Fred speaking, "have a safe trip." I looked up at him and saw that he was speaking to his siblings, Harry, Hermione and his mother. He looked down in my direction and opened his mouth to say something but ended up just looking at me for a moment and then smiling. I smiled back and then Fred turned away. He hugged his mother, gave a quick goodbye to everyone and left.

Standing up, I could feel my heart still pounding heavily and wondered if I was still blushing. One by one, everyone stepped into the fireplace and I stood there, smiling to myself and unable to stop fidgeting with my fingers.

"Your turn, dear," I felt Mrs. Weasley's hand on my shoulder and I smiled. _Hogwarts,_ I thought, _here we come_.


	5. 5: Start of Sixth Year

**Start of Sixth Year**

"He said he wouldn't be coming back to Hogwarts next year because he'll be on to 'bigger and better things.' He wouldn't stop going on about how things will be different once Voldemort takes over – he has to be a Death Eater," I shook my head and looked up from my hands and at Harry. During the beginning of term Feast, Harry had walked in halfway through with blood on his face. Since coming back to the Common Room, Harry explained the blood came from his nose after Draco caught him spying on his compartment under the Invisibility Cloak, petrified him, and then kicked his face and broke his nose.

"After how badly his father failed, you really think Voldemort would have made Draco a Death Eater?" Hermione questioned, not sounding convinced of Harry's accusation.

"Yes, yes I do! Malfoy even bragged about his 'mission' to everyone in his compartment!"

"Harry," I started, unable to believe that the Draco I knew – the Draco who listened to me talk about my grandmother and studied with me quietly by the lake – could possibly have become a Death Eater at some point in the last two months, "what mission could Voldemort have given a Hogwarts _student_? He's basically a child… Even if he wanted to be a Death Eater, you really think Voldemort would have made him one?"

"Even if he wanted?" Harry questioned a little harshly, "Don't you think you're just seeing what you want to see, Taylor?"

I jumped back, a little hurt by the accusation.

"The same could be said for you, mate," Ron jumped in, "and we all get that you want to believe he is but can we give it a rest already?"

Harry stared at us, shifting his eyes from Hermione to Ron to me. I felt bad, but at the same time I felt as though Harry was being irrational.

"Fine," he finally said, "then I'm going to bed."

"Harry," Hermione's voice sounded like she was pleading, "you don't have to go to bed."

"It's all right, I'm tired," he stood up from the couch and walked off towards the dormitories.

The three of us silently watched Harry walk off and then Ron also stood up. "I guess I'll go with him, make sure he's all right and all," Ron shrugged and then walked in the same direction Harry had.

Hermione and I sat in silence. I looked around the Common Room and saw Neville on a nearby couch talking to Seamus and then in a back corner Ginny cuddling with Dean Thomas. I smiled to myself a little, happy to see Ginny happy. I looked back over and saw Hermione looking at me.

"What are you looking at? You're smiling," she stated flatly.

"I was?" I hadn't realized I smiled big enough for someone to notice.

"Yes, you were. Looking at Ginny and Dean?" I shrugged in response and then nodded slightly. "Speaking of…" Hermione started and then hesitated before continuing, "Speaking of, what did Fred stop by for this morning?" After she asked, I could see a small twinkle in her eyes and felt blood rush to my cheeks.

I looked down quickly, hoping to hide the fact that I was blushing. "He, um, he came by to talk to me," I bit my lip after speaking.

"Obviously. He walked in, greeted everyone awkwardly, and then asked where you were. What did he _want_?"

I was biting the inside of my lip while she spoke. "He…" I felt my cheeks burn more and realized it was weird to say out loud, "He asked if he could write to me while I was at Hogwarts."

" _Knew it_ ," Hermione looked proud as she spoke under her breath. I gave her a questioning look and she answered it: "Known it since last year." A grin grew on her face.

"Last year?" I asked her incredulously. When she didn't answer immediately, I slapped her lightly on the arm, "Hermione!"

"What's with the violence?" I looked up as Ginny sat down next to us on the couch.

"Oh, nothing," Hermione sounded like a giddy fourteen year old girl as she spoke, "just figured out why Fred wanted to see Taylor this morning."

I looked back at Hermione in shock, "Were y'all talking about me?"

"Wait! What was it?" Ginny joined Hermione in sounding like a young girl.

I grunted and threw my head back as Hermione spoke, "He asked if he could write her this year."

I looked over to see Ginny grinning wildly at me and for a moment wondered if it was genuine. Just three months ago, Ginny had been cruel about the rumors surrounding Draco and I.

"Is that true?" Ginny leaned in towards me as she spoke.

I nodded. "Yeah… Is that okay?" I asked. Fred was Ginny's brother, and although she appeared happy, I wanted to know how she really felt.

Ginny's giggles paused for a moment and she looked at me. I gulped, nervous about what she might be thinking. "Honestly?" she asked and I nodded, "I think Fred is a great brother, annoying, but great." She stopped and laughed for a moment. "I think Fred would be a good change for you, you know, after all of the rumors last year," she looked at me with a small smile on her face.

I looked away from her quickly. _Rumors_. That's what I'd let most of my friends believe – that what people were saying about Draco and I were simply rumors and nothing more. After Ginny had gotten over her initial anger and seen that I stood by them in the Department of Mysteries, she also believed that's all they were. Slowly, I looked up at Hermione to see that she was giving me a sympathetic look. In that moment, I wasn't sure if it meant that she wanted me to tell Ginny the truth or not.

Sheepishly, I looked back up at Ginny, "Thank you." It was all I could manage to say. The truth, I thought, seemed to be a little too heavy at this moment.

Ginny's smile turned into more of a smirk, "Of course."

"So how are things with Dean?" to my relief, Hermione changed the subject. I listened as Ginny excitedly told us about their relationship – how sweet he was, how great of a kisser he was, how much fun she had with him.

Shortly after Ginny finished gushing about Dean, Hermione suggested we turn in for the night because, in her words, we needed to be well rested for our first day of classes.

* * *

I sat in Potions, partly excited that I was sitting in a NEWT-level Potions class, partly nervous because Draco was sitting only two tables behind me. It was odd having a different professor for Potions; as much trouble as Snape gave Harry, he was a good teacher and I was hoping Professor Slughorn would prove to be also.

I was sitting next to Hermione, eagerly listening to his opening lecture where he introduced himself and his goals for the term, when I heard the door to his classroom open. Harry, along with Ron, walked in and awkwardly explained that they were joining the class but didn't have books or supplies. They were instructed to get used books from Slughorn's cabinet and then joined me and Hermione at our table, even though it was only really meant for two or three.

They sat down and I could see Hermione giving them a perplexed look. Harry and Ron couldn't answer the look because Slughorn began giving us our assignment for the day. I opened my textbook, quickly scanning over the instructions for a potion so that I could begin making it. As class progressed, I didn't expect to create the best potion, but I also didn't expect for anyone other than Hermione to beat me. At the conclusion of our period when Slughorn announced that Harry had won, I felt nothing other than surprise.

Looking back into my book, I read over the directions once more. They weren't difficult, but more advanced than anything we'd ever covered with Snape. Harry was handed a small vial of Felix Felicis for winning the day's competition and then returned to our table with a smile. I wanted to question what he did to win, but Hermione beat me to it.

"Nothing, I just followed what the original owner wrote in the book."

" _Original owner?"_ Hermione questioned.

Harry shrugged and I pulled the book that was in front of him across the table to sit in front of me. I opened it to a random page and saw scribbles in the margins, random adjustments to the directions written by the author of the book. I flipped the page and saw that this was the case for every potion in the entire book.

"Harry," I said, "I think you need to get a new book. This one has strange modifcations made to _every_ potions instruction."

"I'll be fine," Harry snapped as he grabbed the book back from me.

I looked at him, a little shocked by his tone, "Okay."

Slughorn announced it was the end of our class period and I eagerly grabbed my bags. Something about losing in a Potions competition to Harry had irritated me slightly – I wasn't upset that someone else had won; I was upset that he'd won using instructions only written in his book – adjustments created by someone other than himself.

I left the classroom, avoiding Draco's gaze purposefully and successfully. Continuing my day, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Snape, Ancient Runes, and Herbology all passed uneventfully. At some point during Defense Against the Dark Arts Hermione accused Harry of flat-out cheating during Potions to which he denied, but I couldn't help but feeling like I sided with Hermione. Before dinner, I made my way to Professor McGonagall's office for my mandatory meeting to confirm my classes for the semester.

Sitting in her office wasn't uncomfortable even though I hadn't seen it often.

"I see that you're qualified to continue quite a number of courses… Astronomy, Charms, Herbology, Potions, Ancient Runes, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and History of Magic. Which are you choosing to continue with?" Professor McGonagall's voice was questioning and calculated.

"Um…" I took a deep breath, scared that she might – for some unknown reason – judge my choices, "Charms, Herbology, Potoions, Ancient Runes, Transfigureation, and Defense Against the Dark Arts."

I watched as Professor McGonagall nodded, "Very well." She marked a few things on the parchment in front of her and then looked up at me, "And what is it you're planning to do after Hogwarts?"

I hesitated, thinking back to our meeting last year. I had told her I wasn't sure but she assured me that with my grades my options wouldn't be limited. "I guess I'm still not sure," I said with a slight sense of uncertainty.

Again, Professor McGonagall nodded. "I must ask," her voice was eager and curious, "which course is your favorite?"

"Potions," I answered out loud without even thinking about it.

A small smile crept across her face, "Well, with your scores in Potions, I'd say you'd make an excellent Healer for St. Mungo's, but across the board, you would excel in any career for the Ministry."

I smiled, not saying anything in response. I'd always done well in my schoolings, but never so well in my muggle schooling to hear such a response. "Thank you, Professor."

She smiled back at me. "If you have any questions," she stated tenderly, "do not hesitate to meet with me."

I thanked her again and then stood. _A Healer_. I could never be a muggle doctor, but at Hogwarts I was being told I could be a Healer. A sense of pride swelled inside of me and instantly I knew that I wanted to write my mother and tell her – knowing this would make her proud.

I left her office with a smile on my face. Returning to Hogwarts yesterday had literally been my dream come true, but today it was giving me a sense of fulfillment.

* * *

A few days passed since I had confirmed my course load with Professor McGonagall. Potions continued the same way it had since the first day – with Harry always coming in first and with me a close second. I grew more agitated as he confessed to only winning because of his book, but refused to trade it in for another. Hermione also admitted that Draco didn't show up for their last Prefect meeting, which I thought was unusual since he relished in taking on more responsibility last year under Umbridge with her Inquisitorial Squad. Furthermore, I'd noticed that Draco hadn't handed in his last couple of assignments in Transfiguration, earning him a detention with McGonagall. I knew that was unlike him, but tried not to think much about it. Outside of class, I noticed him with his friends, often looking happy and reveling in some victory unknown to me.

I couldn't pretend to be completely unbothered by Draco ignoring me, but I acknowledged that was the way our lives would be. I knew I wouldn't casually run in to him by the lake or in the Clock Tower anymore. Sometimes I would see Draco in the hallways and he would pass me and my friends without mocking us and I wondered if it was him, still ignoring us like he'd done last year because of my presence, or if he was ignoring us because his life held greater meaning now.

Either way, I realized that I needed to attempt to not think about it. A couple of times I found myself thinking about it during class, distracted from the words my professor was saying. I knew I couldn't keep dwelling on Draco and his actions, but it was easier said than done when I saw him every day.


	6. 6: Letters

**Letters**

A few days passed and I sat at breakfast next to Ron and across from Hermione and Harry. While I ate my pancakes and bacon and listened to Hermione and Harry talk about the Half-Blood Prince's book once again, mail was dropped in front of us from various owls.

Hermione reached out in front of her to grab the letters and then looked at me. Raising an eyebrow, she tossed one letter across the table. _Weird,_ I thought, realizing not enough time had passed for my mother to respond to my last letter. I looked down at the letter that landed near my plate and saw my name written in handwriting I didn't recognize.

"Order something?" I looked over at Ron as he asked the question.

"What?" I picked up the letter and opened it slowly. As I did, I read the first word: _America_.

"That's Fred's handwriting," Ron continued as he took a bite of sausage.

"Oh," was my only response. I hadn't yet told Ron or Harry about what Fred had asked me the morning we returned to Hogwarts, and sitting here, receiving my first letter from him, I didn't know how to respond to Ron's question. I closed the letter quickly and he seemed to accept my small response as a confirmation and continued eating without a care. I clutched the letter and set it in my lap, deciding to read it after breakfast. As I took my next bite of food, I noticed my heart was beating a little quicker than usual and that I was excited to read the letter from Fred. I tried to avoid eye contact with Hermione, knowing that she would be giving me a devilish grin.

Ron and Harry finished their meals quickly and then rushed off to get ready for Quidditch tryouts. Hermione and I stayed behind in the Great Hall a little longer to finish our breakfasts and then also headed out to the Quidditch Pitch.

Hermione and I found seats in the stands amongst a small crowd of people. Looking around, I recognized most of the faces but not all of them. Thinking back to last year, I tried to remember if there had been this many people watching the tryouts. Looking towards the pitch, I saw many bodies and began to slowly realize what was going on. As I recognized students who never previously had tried out or were from other houses entirely, Hermione voiced what I was thinking, "I guess everyone wants to play with 'The Chosen One'."

I watched as Harry dismissed the students from other houses and realized this tryout would be a little lengthier than last year's. I reached down into my bag and pulled out the piece of mail I'd received earlier. Looking over at Hermione, she seemed preoccupied actually watching the action – or lack of – of the tryouts unfold, so I opened Fred's letter.

 _America_ , I smiled as I read his opening greeting, _I hope school has started off well – knowing you, you're probably reading this letter as a study break, actually. What classes did you decide on taking this year? NEWT-level classes are a little more difficult, but don't listen to Hermione and let her stress you out too much, you'll do fine. Not much has happened since you left… George and I did decide to start selling products through mail order to Hogwarts but we'll have to be sneaky about getting those in. I guess the most exciting thing for me has been thinking about writing you this letter. For most of the summer I thought about when I'd see you again, just wish we could have spent more time together before you had to return to Hogwarts. I can't wait to know how things are there but know you'll probably be busy – so just write whenever you have time. I look forward to hearing from you, Fred._

The letter was short and simple, but I did feel a smile resting on my face after I read it. _For most of the summer I thought about when I'd see you again_ … Had anyone ever said, or written, something so kind to me?

I tried to stifle the smile on my face as I looked up at the pitch in front of me. Harry was on his broom, watching those trying out from a distance. Majority of the students on their brooms looked unsteady and unsure of their movements. I cringed and wondered what Harry must be thinking. I turned and looked at Hermione next to me; her face was twisted into a painful expression as she watched the tryouts. Deciding I wouldn't miss anything if I didn't pay attention, I eagerly pulled a piece of parchment, a book, and a quill out of my bag. I sat the book on my lap with the parchment on top of it and perched my quill to begin writing when I realized I didn't know how to start the reply. Just _Fred_? _Yes_ , I decided, _just_ _Fred_.

I wrote about which classes I was taking and how they were going, wrote about the new Potions professor and how Snape was moved to Defense Against the Dark Arts. I then wrote about the atrocity of a Quidditch tryout I was currently sitting through because everyone was now fascinated by Harry. I hesitated before ending the letter, trying to decide how I wanted to conclude the letter.

 _I was very happy to hear from you and agree, it would have been nice to spend more time together before school started. I'm glad you asked to write to me, and I can't wait to hear from you again._

I signed my name at the bottom and then read over the letter once more, biting my lip as I read the last part. It was a little more forward than I would probably ever say out loud, but through a letter I felt more confident. I took a deep breath and folded the paper up, making a mental note to go by the Owlery once Hermione and I left the Quidditch pitch.

I was still biting my lip while thinking about the letter when I looked back up at the tryouts. A boy named Cormac was preparing to begin his tryout for Keeper and I hoped he wouldn't be any good so Ron could keep his position on the team. I watched as he easily blocked the first four attempts at goals thrown at him by Ginny. Just as Ginny was preparing to the throw the Quaffle at him again, I heard a small whisper from Hermione. I looked over and saw her glare set sternly on Cormac and then quickly turned back to the tryouts to see Cormac miss blocking the goal. Slowly, I turned back towards Hermione who now had a small smile on her face. " _Hermione_ ," I hissed quietly so no one around us could hear.

"Yes?" she looked at me innocently.

"Hermione," I was astounded by what I knew I had just witnessed, "you just Confunded Cormac!"

Hermione didn't say anything; instead, she just turned back to the Quidditch pitch, her cheeks a light shade of pink. I looked towards the pitch as well and saw that Ron was now up. Ron hovered on his broom similarly to how Cormac had – he blocked the first three Quaffles easily, and then the fourth he almost missed. I took a deep breath and watched Ginny throw the fifth and Ron blocked it. I exhaled with relief; Ron performed better than Cormac. Then I realized what exactly Hermione had done – she Confunded Cormac so Ron would outdo him in the tryout.

"You helped Ron?" I turned back towards her and asked my question coyly with a raised eyebrow. I watched Hermione try to hide a smile and roll her eyes. "Helping a friend, or…?" I nudged her arm with my elbow as I laughed.

She shrugged and pushed my elbow away as she continued trying not to smile. "Whatever," Hermione looked at me, "don't you need to get back to your letter writing?"

It was now my turn to roll my eyes at her. I turned my focus back to the Quidditch tryouts just in time to see Cormac apparently throwing a fit over losing the position to Ron. Harry sided with Ron and refused to let Cormac have a retry. A few more minutes passed and Harry announced the rest of the team. The crowd in the stands began to thin out and I dropped my belongings back into my bag.

"Want to go meet up with Harry and Ron at the bottom?" Hermione asked as she stood up.

"Pass for me," I threw my bag over my shoulder, "I'm going to head to the Owlery. Meet in the Common Room later?"

Hermione nodded and then walked off. Heading towards the castle, I realized I wasn't sure why I was so eager to send the letter to Fred. For some reason, I wanted to send it as soon as possible so he would receive it quickly; I didn't want him to think I was too busy to respond to him. I fidgeted with the strap of my bag while I walked into the castle. Last year I had never thought about Fred in any way other than a funny friend. Looking back, I could see the hints… the individualized attention I received from him, the gift of products from his shop, the flirting that I assumed he did with everyone. At the time, they were all perceived as nice, friendly, and innocent. As soon as Fred asked if he could 'write to me,' however, something changed. I liked that Fred always made me laugh, even last year when I was having bad days. I liked talking to Fred, it was easy and natural; I never had to think too much about what I was going to say next. I'd even missed Fred's jokes and company last year after him and George left Hogwarts. Fred was easy to be around and a good friend. I wondered if what Ginny had said was true: that Fred would be a nice change from last year.

I walked through the corridors of Hogwarts in a cloud of thought about Fred. _If nothing else_ , I thought, _it will be nice to at least talk to Fred this year_. Turning a corner, and as if on cue – knowing I was thinking about someone other than him – I saw Draco walking towards me. I slowed my pace, realizing we were in a corridor alone, and watched his long and easy strides slow down for a moment. Draco looked at me and our eyes met. I gulped, wondering if he would say something, and then noticed the look in his eyes. It wasn't one of the soft or long looks he'd given me last year; instead, Draco looked indifferent. Almost just as quickly as he'd looked at me, he looked away and continued walking, eventually striding past me and not looking up again.

I stopped walking once I was sure he was well passed me and took a deep breath. Knowing I shouldn't, I couldn't help but feel slightly hurt by Draco walking by so casually. I couldn't believe his callous behavior and couldn't figure out what could have happened in two months to change his disposition towards me so drastically. In classes and in passing, Draco was coming off almost more smug and apathetic than he had last year, something I would have never thought possible. This time, though, he walked passed me when we were alone and didn't even give me a second look. I started walking again and thought about what Hermione had said last year. Maybe she had been right the whole time about Draco's intentions and then realized I didn't have to wonder about what Ginny said a few days ago – Fred _would_ be a nice change.

* * *

I sent my reply to Fred's letter using one of Hogwarts's owls and then returned to the Common Room for most of the day until dinner. Ron was, as expected, boasting about making the Quidditch team, and Hermione looked smug and pleased with herself as he did.

A couple of days later, I sat in the Great Hall as dinner started alongside Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

"Were you invited to Slughorn's little party as well?" I glanced up from my Ancient Runes book as Ron spoke to Harry. Earlier in the day, Hermione had told me she received an invitation to have dinner with the "Slug Club," a little group of accomplished students that Slughorn wanted to get to know, and it was no shock to me when Harry nodded that he'd also been invited.

"Not going, though, I have detention with Snape."

I put a copious amount of baked ham on my plate, one of my favorite dishes at Hogwarts, while Hermione changed the subject. "Dumbledore is gone again," I looked up towards the Head Table to see his seat empty, something that was becoming quite usual.

"Did he mention going somewhere in your last meeting with him?" I asked Harry, referring to their private lesson a couple of days ago. Harry shook his head as mail was dropped off and I perked up, something I'd been doing the past couple of days when the owls entered the Great Hall. Letters were dropped along the table with only one falling in the space on the table in front of me. I hesitated for a moment and then grabbed it, smiling to myself when I saw my name.

"What else did you order that was so small?" Ron's voice was incredulous as I looked at him sitting next to me.

I shrugged, not sure of what I should actually say.

"Do you still need to finish your Potions essay?" Hermione piped in and I was thankful for her constant school talk.

Ron grunted as I spoke, "I do!"

We finished eating and the four of us made our way back to the Common Room. On our way, Ron saw Ginny and Dean holding hands so he jumped into a long complaint about Dean dating his sister. I gulped, wondering what Ron would think about Fred's interest in me.

"Ronald, she's fifteen," Hermione reminded him as I led us to an area we frequented. I sat on the couch, Hermione and Harry sat down with me and Ron made himself comfortable in an arm chair. Quickly, I grabbed my Potions textbook from my bag as well as the letter from Fred that I'd dropped in during dinner. I opened it slowly, without trying to draw attention to it, and read it with my book propped up in my lap.

 _America,_

 _Snape is the Defense Against the Darks Arts professor! That's unexpected. Guess he won't be around the school next year then since the position is clearly cursed, so at least there's that to look forward to! How's the new Potions professor doing? Know it's your favorite class, so I hope he's doing a decent job._

 _Oh, Harry. Of course everyone's interested in him now… The Prophet loves him these days, they've basically made him a celebrity! Not a total surprise that everyone would use something like Quidditch tryouts to get close to him. But Quidditch, that is the one thing I miss about school, and seeing you every day, of course._

 _Speaking of school, and you, I was wondering when a trip to Hogsmeade would be coming up? If it's all right with you, I was thinking it would be nice to meet you there and maybe get lunch together? Just let me know._

 _Hopefully I'll get to see you soon,_

 _Fred_

I read the letter again, this time laughing to myself at the squiggle at the end of the second paragraph that resembled a winking face. Reading the letter in Fred's voice, I could actually picture him winking after saying something like that. I bit the inside of my lip as I tucked the letter away into the pages of my book. Fred wanted to see me on our first trip to Hogsmeade. I didn't mean for it to be, but writing Fred was kind of secretive – something no one knew about. If I met him in Hogsmeade, everyone would see us. Once again, people would be talking about me and a boy.

I shook the thoughts away, it was something I could think about later when I was writing back. I pulled out the Potions essay I'd started earlier in the day. Harry, Hermione and Ron were all working silently and I joined in. I'd written a couple more pages when I heard Hermione break the silence.

"Harry! You're not even working, are you?" her tone was accusing. I looked up and across her, towards Harry, and he seemed to be reading out of a book. Honestly, it wasn't a usual look for Harry, but I didn't see the harm in him reading a book.

"I'm getting ahead on some reading," Harry shrugged and looked back down at the book.

"No, you're reading what the _Half-Blood Prince_ wrote instead of relying on your own knowledge to do your assignment," Hermione's voice was cold and I realized Harry was reading his special copy of the Potions textbook.

"What I'm reading has nothing to do with the assignment, actually," Harry retorted. Hermione rolled her eyes and looked away and my stomach flipped. I hated when Harry read from his Potions textbook, it made me feel like Harry was learning more than the rest of us in an unfair manner. "Ron, can I try something on you?"

"Try something?" Ron asked. To me, he looked a little eager to have a distraction from his school work.

"Yeah, there's a spell written in here and I want to try it."

"Try it?" I dropped my Potions essay and looked at Harry, "Do you even know what it does?"

Ron stood up, "It's fine."

" _Ron!"_ Hermione joined in, also thinking it was a bad idea.

Harry ignored us and pointed his wand at Ron as my heart sped up. "Levicorpus!" he flicked his wand and immediately Ron flew up in the air upside down. He appeared to be tied up by his ankle with an invisible rope.

"Whoa!" Ron exclaimed and then laughed, followed by a few snickers from other students in the room. Harry let him down shortly after and the two boys continued being amused by the spell.

I shook my head in disbelief as Hermione voiced it: "I cannot believe you just tried an unknown spell on your best friend."

"It was harmless," Harry tried to assure her.

"You're _lucky_ it was harmless, you didn't know it would be," I piped in. I knew I was starting to sound like Hermione whenever Harry's Potions book was brought up, but I just didn't think it was safe to follow the directions of an unknown person. In the case of Levicorpus, it was a harmless and funny spell – but what if it hadn't been? Hermione went on about the person possibly not being very nice for inventing such a spell when Ron interrupted her.

"Honestly, it's a very Fred and George thing to do."

I smiled instantly at the mention of Fred's name and had to attempt to hide it. Ron was right, the spell was reminiscent of Fred and George. Hermione heaved and slumped back in the couch while Harry went back to reading from the book. Maybe Ron and Harry were right and the Half-Blood Prince was simply a jokester with an affinity for Potions?

I looked back down at my essay, Fred still on my mind because of Ron's comment. Just the mention of his name had made me smile and I knew in that moment how I would be responding to Fred's letter.


	7. 7: Brown Eyes & Butterbeers

**Butterbeers and Brown Eyes**

Waking up, a wave of excitement and nervousness hit me at the same time. Later today, I would be in Hogsmeade spending time with Fred.

I sat up and looked out the window near my bed. The weather was still awful. In the past few days, the temperature had dropped drastically and the wind had become harsh and bitter. I wasn't excited about the walk to Hogsmeade in the cold snow, so I reached down into my trunk and rummaged through my sweaters. I grabbed one of my favorites – a grey sweater that was a little oversized – and a pair of jeans and changed. Looking at myself in the mirror, I fluffed my hair around some, wishing it had more volume or texture instead of laying so flat and straight.

"Do you want to get some breakfast with Ron and Harry before we walk into Hogsmeade?" I looked at Hermione who was already dressed and holding her coat and scarf.

"Sure, give me a few more minutes," I finished getting ready and then grabbed my black coat, gloves, a scarf and a hat to wear during the walk.

Hermione and I made our way down to the Common Room to find it was mostly empty and then continued towards the Great Hall. "Are you excited?" Hermione looked at me with a sly grin. I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, and Hermione rolled her eyes. "Have you told Ron yet?" she asked as we turned onto the main corridor that led to the Entrance Hall.

I sighed, "No… But I've gotten two more letters this past week, surely he's figured it out on his own." Granted, Ron hadn't been with us at dinner one of those times, but I wasn't trying to hide the letters away or anything. However, there was another reason I didn't particularly want to tell Harry or Ron that I'd been writing Fred and was planning on meeting him today. I was nervous that while in Hogsmeade I would decide there wasn't anything between the two of us or Fred would decide I was boring and it would be over before it began. If that was the case, telling Harry and Ron would only make things awkward in the future. I explained it to Hermione a couple of days ago and she understood what I meant, but she was confident Fred and I would have a great time today. Apparently Hermione had noticed Fred's flirting last year and had been waiting for something like this to happen for months.

I bit my lip as we walked into the Great Hall and deliberately avoided looking at the Slytherin table – something that had become an automatic habit in the past couple of months at Hogwarts. There was something else I was nervous for today, something I barely admitted to myself and therefore hadn't confided in Hermione. I was beyond nervous that I would sit across from Fred today and wish it was Draco.

"Well, it's either now or in Hogsmeade when he sees Fred then," Hermione's hushed voice broke into my thoughts.

I smiled at her, "When he sees Fred it is!" I walked away from Hermione quickly, only partly joking. Would it really be so awful if Ron found out his brother wanted to spend time with me that way?

I sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Harry and across from Ron and Hermione. Ron and Harry were already in a discussion about Slughorn and how Dumbledore had asked Harry to get close to him – but what for, Harry wasn't sure.

"Maybe he'll go to Hogsmeade today and you can 'run into' him there?" Hermione offered up a suggestion that I didn't think sounded bad.

"Speaking of Hogsmeade, what are we doing today? Bit cold to do anything outside," Ron sounded dismal when he spoke of the weather.

I buttered a piece of toast while Harry responded, "Butterbeers?" Hermione and Ron shrugged while my heart sped up a little. Fred and I had made plans to meet at the Three Broomsticks and our time there might be a little uncomfortable if Harry, Hermione and Ron were only a couple of tables away looking at us. "Did you still want to stop by Scrivenshaft's Quills, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes, just a quick stop!"

Ron rolled his eyes, "School shopping is never a quick stop for you. But butterbeers sound good to me, and maybe some sweets? My stash is running low…" Ron took a bite of food and then spoke again while I shoved toast nervously into my mouth, "Anywhere you fancy, Taylor? You've been rather silent this morning."

I swallowed the bread and then took a deep breath. _This is it_. "Well, actually…" I started, trying to not let my voice sound as nervous as I was, "I'm meeting someone in Hogsmeade."

I looked across the table at Hermione for encouragement when I heard Harry question me, "Meeting someone? Who?"

Hermione nodded, so I continued but kept my gaze low on the table. "It's, uh… Fred."

"Fred?" I looked up at Ron and saw that his entire face was scrunched up in confusion, "My brother Fred?" I nodded. "Why are you meeting _Fred_? Is he bringing you something?"

I took another deep, steadying breath, wishing that Ron was the type of person who was more perceptive to these situations. "No, he's not bringing me anything. We've actually been writing to each other since we came back to Hogwarts," I glanced quickly at Harry and saw that he had a small smile on his face. Relieved that at least he understood, I looked back at Ron who still looked confused.

"Letters?" he questioned again, "I've seen a couple... But why are you two writing letters to each other?" His voice sounded dubious.

" _Ronald_ ," I looked over to see Hermione looking at him incredulously, " _Why do you_ think _they would be writing each other letters_?"

Ron looked down at the table and I watched his face slowly fall from being scrunched up and confused to raising his eyebrows and looking surprised. "Wait… you and _Fred?_ " Ron shook his head.

I nodded and I was thankful to hear Hermione speak for me, "Yes, Ronald."

The four of us were silent for a moment and then finally Ron spoke, "Interesting." He almost whispered it and then went back to his breakfast. I took his silence as a sign that I was safe from further questions and continued eating my own food. I looked next to me at Harry and he was looking at me, a small smirk on his face. I smiled back and looked away, not wanting to encourage him to ask anything.

We finished eating our meal in silence and then stood, all bundling up in our coats, gloves, scarves and hats. As we made our way to the doors of the castle, Hermione stayed close to me. "I'll keep them from the Three Broomsticks if I can," she whispered into my ear. I turned and thanked her, grateful that I didn't have to worry about them watching my interactions with Fred for the rest of the day.

I stepped outside and instantly grimaced. The wind was sharp and stung when it hit my face. I wrapped my coat around my waist tightly and tucked my hands deep into my pockets, hating that I was outside. Quickly, we made our way to the gates where Filch was scanning everyone as they left the castle. On the other side of the gates, the four of us began walking at a fast pace.

"Anyone else mention what they're doing in Hogsmeade today?" Ron asked his question loudly so we could hear it over the wind.

"Uh, not that I've heard," Harry answered.

We walked a few more feet in silence when Ron spoke again, "Is Ginny coming?" He looked over towards me and Hermione after he asked the question.

"Yeah," I yelled back at him, "with Dean."

As soon as I said it, I regretted it. "Of course she is," Ron rolled his eyes and turned forward.

We walked quickly and the remainder of the trip was mostly silent. Walking into the village, my heart started pounding in my chest and a lump grew in my throat – I was getting nervous. Thankfully for most of the walk I'd been too preoccupied with the cold to worry about meeting with Fred, but now it was catching up to me. I followed the path with my three friends that would eventually and inevitably lead to the Three Broomsticks. I could see the sign that hung over the door just a few yards in front of us and Hermione began to slow down a little, causing Harry and Ron to follow her lead.

"Quills first?" she asked eagerly.

Harry shrugged, "Fine with me, I just want to get inside somewhere."

Hermione nodded at him and then turned so she was looking at me and the boys couldn't see her face. "Relax, it's just Fred. No need to be nervous," she spoke as quietly as she could.

I smiled, but wasn't sure if it looked genuine, "I'm not nervous."

An eyebrow raised on her forehead. "If you say so," Hermione smirked a little, "Have fun." With that, she turned and motioned for the boys to follow her further down the road to the quill shop.

"Have a good time," Harry told me before turning away.

After Harry passed him, however, Ron continued to stand a couple of feet away from me near the entrance to the Three Broomsticks. From the look on his face, I could tell he was thinking about something. "So you're really meeting Fred here?" he asked, again speaking loudly. I nodded, not sure what else I could say. Ron looked down at the snow on the ground and, I assumed, continued thinking about whatever was on his mind. "Well," he looked up at me and his voice sounded hallow and agitated, "have fun I guess." He grimaced as he spoke and just before turning away, his eyes moved passed me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a tall boy walking towards us.

I turned back towards Ron to say something, but he turned away abruptly. "Ron!" I called after him, but he didn't turn around.

"Hey there," I felt a hand rest on my back and jumped as it touched me, "Sorry, didn't mean to surprise you."

I looked up and saw Fred looking down at me, smiling. "Oh, it's all right," I knew I didn't sound enthused, but I looked back to Ron walking away down the path and wondered why he acted that way. I took a deep breath and knew I needed to turn my attention to Fred before he thought I was rude, so I looked back up at him. He was also looking in the direction Ron was walking. "Let's head inside? I'm freezing!"

Fred let out an amused sigh, "Of course!" He moved his hand off my back and instead held it out for me to walk first. Quickly, I made my way to the entrance of the Three Broomsticks. Walking indoors was a relief to my senses; I could breathe easier, my eyes didn't sting from the wind and my skin was starting to feel like it wasn't frigid and frozen. I looked back to see that Fred was behind me and then headed towards a table on the back wall. While walking, Fred said he was going to get us some drinks so I sat down on one side of the table and took my hat and gloves off. I ran my fingers through my hair a couple of times – which proved difficult since my hands were numb from the cold – and hoped it didn't look too crazy from the hat and the wind, and then shimmied my big coat off.

"Here ya go," Fred sat a mug of butterbeer down on the table in front of me and then sat down on the opposite side of the table. He took a moment to go through the routine of removing all of the outdoors winter gear he was wearing and I took a large gulp of my butterbeer. My nerves had subsided but were replaced with worried thoughts about my friendship with Ron. "On a scale of one to ten," I looked up at Fred who was looking at me across the table with a glow in his brown eyes, "how much did you hate walking here in the snow?"

I bit the inside of my lip for a second and forced myself to push Ron out of my head. "Honestly?" Fred nodded after I asked, "I would have stayed in bed today if I didn't think it would have hurt your feelings too much."

Fred rolled his eyes, knowing that I was joking. "Please," the word rolled off his tongue as he smiled, "you've been looking forward to seeing me." He sounded cocky, but again, I knew it was playful and fun.

"I don't think you understand how much my body is not acclimated to snow," I flexed my fingers, attempting to restore feeling to them, "my fingertips are still numb."

"You're being dramatic," Fred said dismissively as he reached across the table towards my hand. His fingers barely touched mine and I was surprised by the swift and bold move, but then realized his purpose behind it when he spoke. "Damn, take the back," Fred let his hand rest on top of mine lightly, "your hands are freezing."

My heart was thumping and I withdrew my hand slowly. "Yeah," I gulped, "I'm going to run to the restroom. Maybe hot water will help?" I stood up as Fred nodded; I wasn't able to tell from his facial expression if he was surprised that I'd pulled my hand away from his or not.

I walked quickly to the restroom. Upon entering, I leaned against the counter. Why had I just run away from Fred? My hands would have been fine in a few more minutes on their own but I'd created an excuse to leave. I looked into the mirror and took a deep breath. "Come on, Taylor," I encouraged myself. I always had fun with Fred, and it wasn't like he'd never touched me before. He nudged me, put his hand on my back and head, leaned over on me casually, and playfully flicked me plenty of times last year. I turned the nob for hot water and listened to the water run for a minute while it got warm. Was this what I'd feared? That for some unknown reason I'd react this way? I shut my eyes hard… No. Opening them, I threw my hands under the faucet and shook them around under the water for a few seconds while the feeling in my fingertips slowly returned. I turned the water off and looked at myself again. I was acting this way because I was upset about Ron's reaction, I hadn't even given Fred a fair chance yet. I took a few more deep, steadying breaths while I dried my hands and then walked out of the restroom and back towards the table.

I looked up and saw Fred still sitting in his seat, but he wasn't alone. A tall, slender girl with long brown hair and another shorter girl with black hair were standing close to Fred and talking, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. I slowed my pace, trying to figure out if I knew the girls or not. As I got closer, I could hear the girls giggling at Fred – for what I wasn't sure – and I could see Fred sipping his butterbeer as they did. When he was setting his mug back down on the table, he saw me approaching the table and smiled broadly in my direction. "Well, it's been great catching up, but my date's back," Fred's smile remained while he looked back up at the girls and my head jerked instinctively with surprise upon hearing the word 'date.' They looked over their shoulders at me and appeared to be disappointed and then walked off.

I sat down with a smile on my face, realizing they must have been flirting with Fred. "Sorry, did I ruin your game? I can go back to the restroom if you need me to," I was laughing a little while I spoke.

"Well, since you offered," he shrugged nonchalantly and took another sip of his butterbeer, "Actually, on a more serious note, do you know who those girls were? They knew me buuut…"

I looked in the direction they had walked and saw them sitting at a table with a group of other students. I recognized the boys at their table as Ravenclaws in Ginny's year. I shook my head in response, "No, but they're sitting with fifth years. Enjoy flirting with fifteen year old girls, don't you?" I raised my eyebrow.

Fred shrugged, "I can't help that they're star struck to finally see a mature man after months at Hogwarts."

"Mature man?" I grimaced and took another large gulp of my butterbeer.

"Uh, yes," Fred said reassuringly, but his eyes were glimmering as if in a joyful dance, "I'm older, own a successful business. Very mature, you should consider yourself lucky."

"I always do," I smiled as I spoke, realizing I was having fun.

Fred had a large grin stretched across his face while he looked at me. "Want another?" he motioned towards my almost empty mug. I nodded and he stood to get us more drinks. Now, I thought, my fit in the restroom almost seemed silly. Would I need to talk to Ron later? Of course, but I couldn't do anything to help with that situation now. Fred returned and sat down with the two mugs. "So I know there has to be more going on than the small amount of information you write in your letters. How is everything?" he asked as he pushed one mug closer to me.

I shrugged, "There really isn't much going on." Fred raised an eyebrow at me. "There really isn't! I told you about everyone ogling Harry, classes, Quidditch… Hogwarts is relatively boring without an evil Headmistress running around trying to destroy everyone's lives," I smirked as I spoke, but it was almost true. My first year at Hogwarts had been so eventful, but I didn't mind the calmer aura around the castle one bit, especially knowing that things outside of the castle were anything but calm.

"Well, you have a point," Fred agreed with me, "But if you won't tell me more about you and Hogwarts, then I'm going to ask how home is. Heard from your mother?"

I was a little shocked by his question. Fred had never asked specifically about my mom before. "Uh, yeah, only a couple of letters. But we didn't write to each other much last year either," as I said it, I wondered if that was odd. I didn't notice other students writing their parents frequently, but I felt a little guilty since my mom was so far away. If something happened at Hogwarts, would she even find out?

Fred shrugged, "Can't say I ever wrote my mum much." He took a drink from his mug before speaking again, "How are things there? Everything going on is affecting the Muggle world here some… Has it reached America?"

I licked my bottom lip and then bit it while I thought for a moment. "I'm… I'm not really sure," I felt almost dumb with my answer, "I guess I don't really have any access to the Wizarding community there, so I don't know if there's things going on that are cover-ups for events caused by wizards. My mom wouldn't know either, which is a good thing, though. If my father knew about everything, there's no way I'd be here now."

"You really think he wouldn't let you come back to Hogwarts?" Fred sounded surprised by this.

"I _know_ he wouldn't," I stressed. "I didn't attend Hogwarts until I was fifteen, and that was after begging my parents. My father is aware that something is wrong, but yes, if he knew the extent to Voldemort rising to power and the implications of that… I would be sitting in a high school classroom learning biology or Spanish right now."

"Spanish?" Fred again sounded surprised and he raised his eyebrows.

"Yes," I explained, "Texas is right above Mexico. Spanish is required to graduate."

Fred snorted, "Muggle schools are so weird…" Fred took a deep breath and looked at me, "But I am glad that you were able to return." He smiled, not an overly large one, but a small, gentle smile that only caused one wrinkle on each side of his mouth instead of several like usual.

I could feel heat rising in my cheeks and looked down, a little embarrassed that I was starting to blush.

"I have a question," I looked up at Fred slowly as he spoke, "What was up with Ron earlier?"

I hesitated, unsure of how to answer the question. "Well, it was because I was meeting you," I looked down at the table while I answered. I heard Fred sigh and then decided to speak before him. "In his defense though, I didn't tell him I was meeting you here until this morning."

"So?" Fred responded quickly.

I shrugged, "I guess he just thinks it's weird." To be honest, I wasn't sure of his exact reason, but I assumed he was just uncomfortable with the idea of another one of his friends spending time with another one of his siblings.

"I guess that makes sense," Fred said. I drank more of my butterbeer and again tried to not think about Ron. "Well, well," Fred's voice was sing-song, "speak of the devil."

I looked up and saw Ron walking in with Harry and Hermione. Hermione was looking in the opposite direction so she didn't see me or Fred, but Harry did and then made his way towards us. "Fred!" he exclaimed and Fred stood up to greet him. Ron and Hermione had followed Harry over and were standing behind him; Ron looked as if he were sulking.

Harry was asking Fred about business and his mom, so I looked at Hermione until I got her attention. "How was quill shopping?" I asked her.

Hermione smiled, but I could tell it was forced. "Good," her voice also sounded like she was trying hard to sound positive, "We actually came in to see you for a moment. We're heading back to the castle and wanted to let you know... In case you wanted to leave with us so you didn't have to walk back alone later."

I looked at her, a bit surprise. "Heading back to the castle?"

Hermione pursed her lips together tightly, but I didn't know what she was trying to tell me through her expression.

I looked up at Fred who had since stopped talking to Harry; I assumed because he heard Hermione's announcement. "I'm going to stay and have one more drink, I'll be fine to walk alone," I looked back at Hermione and assured her, "Thank you, though."

Hermione nodded at me and turned towards Fred to tell him bye. I watched her and saw that Fred was smiling, probably happy because of my decision. Fred told Harry and Hermione goodbye and then looked at his younger brother. "Hi Ron, wonderful to see you too," Fred, as usual, sounding fun and humorous.

"Hey," was Ron's only response.

The two brothers looked at each other for a moment and then Fred said, "All right then… Well, it was good to see you all." Hermione and Harry agreed and I told them I would see them at the castle soon before they departed. After they walked out of the pub, Fred sat back down. "He really does have his knickers in a twist over something," he rolled his eyes as he spoke about Ron.

I took a deep breath, "Yeah…" I took a big gulp of my butterbeer and decided that I really didn't want to talk about Ron with Fred so I changed the subject. "All right," I began, "now it's my turn to ask how _your_ mother is doing. I miss her!"

Fred shook his head while he smiled at me. He answered by telling me that she was fine and then explaining his father's promotion at the Ministry. From there the conversation drifted to the Ministry, a few details about the Order and how no one knew what Dumbledore's plan was, and back to more lighthearted topics like new products him and George were working on. I had only intended to stay for one more drink but that turned into three more drinks before I decided I should be heading back to the castle.

Fred was leaning his head on his hand, looking at me across the table. "I'm not going to argue with you, you should probably get back soon before it gets dark since you're walking alone. But that doesn't mean I'm not disappointed."

I rolled my eyes, "I've drank five butterbeers and talked with you for hours. I've had fun, there's no reason you should be disappointed."

"I suppose," he said loftily. I stood up and Fred followed my lead. I took a moment to put my coat, scarf, hat and gloves on while I waited for Fred to also finish putting on his extra layer of clothes. Once done, he held his hand out for me to walk first so I led us out of the Three Broomsticks. Stepping outside was just as unpleasant as it had been earlier, and I winced at the wind. "Well," I heard Fred call and I turned back around to face him, "I had a lot of fun, I hope you did too." Even though he was also grimacing from the wind, Fred was still managing to smile.

"I did," I made the effort to smile back at him.

"Have a safe walk back to the castle," he said, and I bit my lip, not knowing what I should do or say. "Talk to you soon?" he phrased it as a question so I answered promptly with an 'of course.' He nodded, and then hesitated for a moment. "All right, well, hopefully I get to see you again soon," he put a gloved hand on my cheek and instantly I was taken back to memories of another boy putting his hand on my cheek; I pushed the thoughts away and wondered if Fred was about to kiss me while I felt my heart beat fast in my chest. "Bye, America," he broadened his smile and nodded at me.

"Bye, Fred," I responded and hoped it was loud enough for him to hear. His hand was still resting on my cheek and I bit my lip as his smile faltered some while he looked at me. I felt his thumb move slowly up my cheek bone and then, he smiled larger one more time and moved his hand away from my cheek and placed it into his pocket.

"Bye," he repeated and started to turn away. I smiled at him and then also turned, biting my lip hard and my heart still pounding. As I walked back to the castle, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. My time with Fred had been great and, unlike I'd feared, I only thought of Draco when Fred's action mimicked his from once upon a time. Surely, I thought, it was only because Draco was the last person to gingerly touch me in such a way. I walked quickly, eager to reach the castle and find Hermione and tell her about how much fun I'd had spending my day with Fred.


	8. 8: Scattered Friends

**Scattered Friends**

Staring at the ceiling and thinking about yesterday, it was a little ironic that I'd told Fred school was calm and boring without Umbridge. I'd excitedly returned to the castle yesterday looking for Hermione, only to discover they'd witnessed Katie Bell get cursed by a necklace she was bringing back from Hogsmeade. Not even her friend knew where Katie had gotten the necklace, but as soon as she'd touched it on the walk back to Hogwarts she'd flown into the air with a cry of pain. Hermione told me that Harry recognized the necklace from Borgin and Burke's and accused Draco of giving her the necklace to McGonagall, but McGonagall assured Harry he couldn't have because he'd been in detention with her all day.

The chatter I heard in the background of my thoughts was growing louder so I picked my head up from the back of the couch I was on. A group of fourth year students had just entered the Common Room and were excitedly talking about something. They looked as though they didn't have a care in the world and I wondered if Harry, Hermione and Ron had ever been like that at Hogwarts.

I turned and looked out the window that was near the couch I was on. It was sleeting today, and the sleet was falling almost horizontally because of the wind. Hermione told me last night that after they left me at the Three Broomsticks Ron saw Ginny snogging Dean, putting him in a foul mood for the remainder of the day. At dinner, Ron was even acting cold towards Hermione and I sighed, knowing I needed to talk to him today.

The couch cushion moved and I jumped as someone sat down next to me. I looked over to see Hermione and Ginny, each with a couple of books in their hands.

"We're going to study, want to join?" Hermione asked. I nodded and grabbed my bag that was slumped against my leg.

"Talked to Ron today?" I asked as I followed them out of the Common Room.

Hermione shook her head and Ginny grunted. "He needs to get over it, already," I looked over just in time to see her roll her eyes.

"Get over you and Dean?" I asked for clarification.

Ginny hesitated answering for a minute, "Yes, and… Well I didn't know that he didn't know!" She sounded defensive and I was curious as to what she was talking about. "But, I may have mentioned that you and Viktor snogged," Ginny looked at Hermione while she spoke, "Then with me and Dean, and you meeting Fred yesterday, I think he's just feeling a little… behind."

"Seriously?" Hermione asked in disbelief, "He's upset because I kissed someone over a year ago?"

"Wait," I stopped walking, "has Ron never kissed anyone?" Hermione and Ginny stopped and looked at me with grim faces and shook their heads. "Well, it all makes more sense now," I thought out loud. No wonder he hated seeing his little sister make-out with boys; she was doing things he'd never done.

We started walking again and made our way to the Great Hall. After a couple of hours, Ginny left to meet Dean, but Hermione and I stayed until dinner time. We sat at the table with plenty of space around us, but when Ron walked into the Great Hall, he passed us and sat near Neville at the other end of the table.

"Insufferable little…" Hermione cursed Ron under her breath while she put food on her plate. I looked down the table towards Ron and noticed he looked miserable as he ate. I wondered if he was jealous that he had yet to kiss someone, or if he was jealous _Hermione_ had kissed someone.

After dinner, Ron continued to avoid us in the Common Room and eventually we went to bed. I didn't think Ron was trying to avoid us so much because of me meeting his brother, I truly thought it was because of Hermione. I toyed with the idea of sharing this idea with her, but chose to keep it to myself for now. Hermione was clearly angry with the way Ron was acting – as evidenced by her eye rolls and stern face when she looked at him – and I didn't think now would be the right time.

Later in the week, I sat in the greenhouse waiting for Herbology to start.

"You're here early," I looked up and watched Harry sit down next to me.

"Same could be said for you," I responded, "Hermione and I were let out of Runes early, but she wanted to run to the library to look for something."

Harry nodded, "Sounds like Hermione." I smiled at Harry. For the past few days, I hadn't spent much time with Harry because Ron was still avoiding Hermione. Therefore, I often sat with Hermione while Harry joined Ron at meals and on breaks. I figured out that Ron's issue was mostly with Hermione because a couple of days ago he asked me a question about schoolwork while I was sitting in the Great Hall alone. We had a short discussion about the assignment from Snape and then when Hermione joined us, Ron stopped talking and glared at her.

"I never got the chance to ask you," Harry spoke again, "How did the thing with Fred start?" He was looking at me, smiling and his eyes wide.

I looked away, starting to blush a little. "Not sure," I shrugged, "I didn't think he had any intentions other than being friendly, but he asked if we could write to each other and then asked if he could meet me in Hogsmeade. I wasn't really expecting it." I peered back up Harry, wanting to see his reaction.

He was still smiling, "Did you have fun? In Hogsmeade?"

A wide grin spread across my face, "I did." All week, I'd been anxiously awaiting a letter from Fred and finally received one yesterday.

Harry nodded, "Well, good, I'm happy for you then."

I gulped, knowing he was telling the truth. But like with Hermione, I couldn't help but wonder if he was really happy, or just happy that it wasn't Draco. "How's Ron?" as I asked the question, I looked towards the doors of the greenhouse to make sure he wasn't coming in yet.

Harry shook his head and sighed. "I don't know…" Harry trailed off as another group walked in. We watched silently, both looking to see if one was Ron. When he did stride into the greenhouse behind the group of students, Harry looked at me regretfully, "Maybe he'll sit with Hermione today if I stay here?"

I smiled at him halfheartedly, doubting what he suggested would actually happen. Ron walked over to the two of us and sat across from Harry.

"Ready for the match this weekend?" I asked Ron as he adjusted himself in his chair.

Ron nodded, "Yeah, practice has been going well." His tone suggested he didn't really want to have a conversation. Hermione walked in and hesitated when she saw the three of us sitting together and then slowly sat down next to Ron in the seat across from me. To my surprise, Ron didn't move immediately. He shifted awkwardly and moved himself away from her a little, but he didn't get up and move chairs as I'd expected.

"Find what you were looking for in the library?" I asked Hermione, wanting desperately to break the tension that had set over the four of us.

She shook her head, "No, not yet." I was about to ask what exactly it was she was looking for when Professor Sprout walked in and began speaking. To my relief, Ron didn't run off after Herbology. Instead, he walked back to the castle with us and the four of us even sat together during dinner. He didn't speak much, but I saw it as a sign of progress.

Even though Ron had acted positive when I asked him about Quidditch, Saturday morning he was his usual bundle of nerves. We sat at breakfast, and I was happy that in the past couple of days he'd started speaking to me and Hermione more. Ron stared at his plate in front of him and didn't touch it. "I can't," he shook his head and looked at Harry, "I can't do it."

"Yes you can, just drink your pumpkin juice," Harry picked up the glass in front of him and handed it to Ron.

" _Harry!_ " I heard Hermione say his name coldly, "Do not tell me you did what I think you just did."

Harry smiled at her coyly, "What are you talking about?"

"You just put something in his drink!" her voice was hushed so those around us wouldn't hear. I looked over at Harry and in his left hand, I saw him clutching and trying to hide a small vial. My eyes widened when I realized it was the vial of Felix Felicis he won on our first day of Potions. "Ron, drinking Felix Felicis would be _cheating,_ " she turned her attention to Ron across the table.

He looked at her and for a moment I thought he wouldn't drink it, but then he shrugged and chugged the glass of juice. I felt my mouth drop open and couldn't believe this was how Harry was choosing to play Quidditch. Then I remembered, Hermione also cheated to get Ron on the team.

"Come on, Harry, I'm ready to play some Quidditch," Ron stood up and was holding himself confidently instead of slumping over as he had on the way to breakfast. Harry stood up and the two of them walked off; I bit my lip, knowing Hermione was irritated.

She whipped her head around to look at me, "Can you believe that?"

I shrugged, wanting to bring up the fact that she'd cursed Cormac during tryouts, but decided it wouldn't be best to make her more mad. Instead, I just gave a sympathetic look and finished eating. We walked out to the Quidditch pitch together and wrapped up in coats and scarves. As we found a place to stand, I was happy to realize I'd been right to hope that once we were in the crowd and surrounded by people I wouldn't be so cold.

I looked out at the pitch and watched the players take their brooms and fly closely to the ground, apparently warming up. Glancing around the players dressed in green and silver, I noticed I didn't see a familiar body resting on a broom. I counted the players and realized the entire Slytherin team was on the field.

I turned to Hermione and spoke quietly, "Does Draco not play Quidditch anymore?"

Hermione's eyebrows raised and she inspected the field closely. "I guess not," she admitted after not seeing him on a broom, "Harry didn't say anything about it."

That was the weird part, I thought. Harry's preoccupation with Draco meant he would have surely mentioned that Draco quit Quidditch to us. I chose to try not to worry about it and watched the match begin. Ron moved swiftly on his broom and easily saved all the goals thrown his way. The match was the quickest one I'd watched at Hogwarts and it was over a couple of hours later. Heading back to the Common Room, every Gryffindor around me was yelling and cheering about our victory over Slytherin – the chant "Weasley is our King" from last year even made an appearance.

The Common Room was loud and crowded with every Gryffindor present. Hermione was sulking a little because of how the match had been won when Harry appeared at our side.

"Good match, huh?" he was smiling and happy to see everyone congratulating Ron and chanting the victory song for him.

Hermione glared at him, "Because you cheated." Her whisper was harsh and I was happy it wasn't directed at me.

Harry shook his head, "I didn't. I just pretended to pour it in his cup."

Hermione's face relaxed instantly. "Harry…" she smiled and didn't finish her sentence. She turned away from Harry and looked at Ron, still smiling, "I'm going to congratulate him." Hermione took a step towards Ron who was in the center of the room. Before she could take a second step, a girl ran in front of her towards Ron. The girl jumped into his arms and kissed him; the room went wild as everyone cheered for the girl now making out with Ron.

I looked at Hermione who was standing a couple of steps in front of me and saw that her face had fallen from the smile she'd just had. I watched her turn around and leave the Common Room promptly. I turned to go after her but Harry's hand rested on my arm, "I'll go." His face looked down and a little disappointed. I nodded and watched him walk off after Hermione.

I stayed in the Common Room with the crowd of people, eventually finding Ginny and Neville to stay near through the celebrations. I realized after a few minutes that I no longer knew where Ron was and wondered if he'd gone off with the girl who'd jumped on him. A couple of hours passed and the crowd died down. When Hermione finally returned to the Common Room, her face was red and she went straight for the dormitory. I followed her and could tell she had cried, but she managed not to anymore. She pulled out books and read on her bed silently as I sat next to her with my own book. We didn't leave for the remainder of the evening, I didn't even ask if she wanted to. We skipped dinner together and eventually went to bed without talking about Ron.

* * *

I sat in the Great Hall alone, with a few other students sprinkled about the large room studying or chatting. I was trying to write a letter to Fred, but kept getting distracted by my thoughts. Almost a week had passed since the first Quidditch match and Hermione and Ron were hardly speaking. They'd yelled at each other once – in which Ron said she couldn't be mad at him for kissing Lavender because she'd kissed Viktor. I could tell Harry thought the situation was as weird as I did. Last year, I'd never picked up on anything between Hermione and Ron. This year, however, the tension between them had been present ever since I returned from the States. Since they'd yelled at each other, spending time with Hermione and Ron went back to being separated. I didn't eat lunch or dinner with my three friends; instead, I usually ate with just Hermione who was more focused on school now as a distraction from her anger at Ron. I suggested she just talk to him a couple of days ago, but as if on cue, Ron walked into the Common Room with Lavender hanging all over him.

At some point in the week, Harry had brought up his speculations for Draco not playing in the match. He said Draco was still on the team, but he was sick on Saturday. Harry suspected he faked being sick so he could be in the castle alone while everyone was outside, but I brushed his concerns off. What would Draco be doing in the castle alone? I had seen him off by himself more than usual and he was skipping classes, and his smug attitude was beginning to fade some. Instead, Draco was coming off as aloof and unconcerned with school.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and jumped to see a younger student looking at me. "This is from Professor Slughorn," the boy handed me a piece of parchment paper and then walked off. I sighed. As I opened it, I could tell it was an invitation I didn't want. Lately, Slughorn had started taking notice of my marks and abilities in Potions. While they were nowhere close to Harry's because of the help he was receiving from the Half-Blood Prince, they were still more advanced than most of the other students in the class. I shoved the dinner invitation with the Slug Club down into my bag, realizing I should be thankful. At least I had an American accent and my Muggle father's last name, otherwise, this invitation could have come a lot sooner if he'd realized who my grandparents were.

I went back to my letter writing without even bothering to check when the dinner was. Since I'd seen him in Hogsmeade a couple of weeks ago, Fred had written once a week. I enjoyed receiving the letters from him; reading them and thinking about his life was a nice break from the tension surrounding my friends and listening to Harry obsess over Draco. Writing back to Fred, however, was more difficult. In my last letter, I mentioned that Hermione and Ron were fighting, but I didn't want to dwell on it too much even though it was taking up most of my time and thought at Hogwarts.

I wrote about the test I'd taken a couple of days ago in Defense Against the Dark Arts and answered his questions about Hermione and Ron. Yes, they were still fighting, and yes, it was because Ron was now dating a girl. I wrote about the invitation I'd just received, but admitted that I might try to think of an excuse not to go. I liked Professor Slughorn, but the way he gussied over certain students didn't amuse me and I didn't particularly want to be one of those students. Before signing the letter, I asked Fred if they were sending products such as love potions into Hogwarts disguised as perfume and medicine. Hermione told me she'd been overhearing girls talk about Weasley's love potions and using them on Harry. When Hermione warned Harry to not drink anything from anyone because Fred and George were sending love potions in disguised, Harry didn't even show concern for himself. Instead, he immediately decided that Draco could be smuggling things into Hogwarts similarly. I added that younger girls were using the potions to take their admiration and obsession for Harry (who was also having to strategically avoid Mistletoe that was being placed out early) to another level.

I scrawled my name at the bottom of the page and folded the parchment up. I had time to walk to the Owlery and send the letter before dinner, so I gathered my things and stood up, wondering for at least the fourth time today if my three friends were all in different locations or if I would be able to find at least two of them together somewhere.


	9. 9: Don't

**Don't**

Apparently I was wrong about the invitation I'd received from Slughorn, as Harry informed me later that evening. Since I didn't open it completely, I didn't see that Slughorn wasn't inviting me to a dinner. Instead, he was inviting me to his Christmas Party. A party where dates were encouraged.

I rolled my eyes upon Harry telling me and shrugged, saying I wouldn't go. But Harry was going and he pleaded for me to attend. Now that a couple of weeks had passed and the party was only a day away, Harry was asking if I would like to go with him.

"As friends," he added, as if I thought it was anything else, "Then we don't have to worry about taking anyone else."

I agreed, a little surprised that he'd asked me. For some reason, and maybe it was because I wasn't getting to spend as much time with Harry lately because of the silent standoff between Ron and Hermione, I thought he'd use this as an opportunity to ask a girl he fancied. If I was being honest with myself, however, I was almost confident that Harry had his eyes set on a Weasley as well. More and more often, I was catching him looking at Ginny and it was something about the way he looked at her that gave him away.

I looked back down at the books in front of me. Harry and I were studying together in the Great Hall, something that rarely occurred. I heard Harry sigh and looked up to see that he was staring passed me. I turned around but didn't see anything, "What are you looking at?"

"Malfoy… he came in, said something into Crabbe's ear and just walked back out alone," Harry was talking a hushed tone.

"Harry," I started, irritated that I was, again, having this discussion.

"Taylor," he copied my tone as he said my name, "he's up to something."

I looked back down at my books. Whenever I did find a moment with Harry, he always brought Draco up in the conversation. I wondered if he was so caught up in his fascination with tracking Draco's moves that he'd forgotten about last year. Knowing Draco in a way that Harry didn't, I couldn't help but defend him, but it was getting old. I knew I couldn't defend Draco forever and I also couldn't keep talking about him and also hoping to stop thinking about him as much.

Standing up, I was moving without fully thinking through my next idea. "I'm going to head back to the Common Room for a bit," I gathered my things as Harry apologized in case he'd upset me. I assured him he hadn't and then walked off. I wasn't going to the Common Room, instead, I was doing something I probably shouldn't. Leaving the Great Hall, I walked up to the stairs and turned in the direction I'd often noticed Draco going alone. Chances were I wouldn't find him, but maybe I could make a few lucky guesses about which way he would turn and see him.

I walked down the empty corridor trying to decide if I would turn left or right in the upcoming intersection of hallways. Approaching the corner, I slowed down and came to a stop. I looked to my left and didn't see anything but paintings. Then, I looked to my right and my heart skipped a beat. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and staring at me was Draco. He was a few yards away, but I could see that his eyebrows were drawn together.

I opened my mouth but I didn't know what to say because I hadn't thought this far ahead, I didn't even expect to actually see Draco. "Draco…" I said his name, but didn't know what to follow with. He stared at me for a minute, his eyes studying me in a harsh way.

He picked himself up off the wall and faced me. Draco's jaw moved back and forth a couple of times as I played with my lip between my teeth nervously. I watched his chest raise and he took a deep breath. "Don't," he finally spoke and shook his head. Before saying anything else or giving me a chance to ask a question, he turned and started walking away.

 _Don't_? I was frozen in place wondering what that meant. _Don't talk to him? Don't follow him?_ He had to know I was looking for him, what else would I have been doing?

I gulped and realized my heart was beating a little quickly. Draco hadn't spoken to me in almost a full eight months and now that he had, all he said was 'don't.' I turned to walk back in the direction that I'd come from and saw Crabbe and Goyle walking down the corridor towards me. I passed them and then glanced carefully over my shoulder and saw them turn down the hallway Draco had walked down. Now I understood why he'd just been waiting there – he was meeting Crabbe and Goyle.

I walked to the Common Room, realizing I could have turned back around and followed Crabbe and Goyle but knowing that even if I did, what would I do when I saw them with Draco?

* * *

I felt slightly uncomfortable in my black dress and nice flats in Hogwarts. Around the castle, I only wore my uniform or sweaters and jeans. Now I was wearing a loose dress that flowed out and rested above my knees. It was somewhat casual, so I dressed it up with a gold cardigan that was as long as the dress was. Harry was wearing black dress robes and looked nice; he was also more dressed up than I'd ever seen him. We walked to the party as Harry told me that Ron was acting cold and bitter all morning, probably because he wasn't invited and Hermione had asked Cormac to go with her. She'd admitted to me that she thought about asking Harry to be her date, but decided Cormac would upset Ron and asked him instead. To me, they were playing a weird game that would only hurt each other's feelings more.

We walked into the party and saw school faculty and students scattered about the room. There was food and drinks and everyone was wearing dress robes or dresses. It was nice to see people outside of their school uniform, but it was a little odd to be mingling with professors as well. Harry grabbed a couple of appetizers off a floating plate for us and handed one to me, "Might as well enjoy the food while we're here."

I laughed and ate the finger food that looked like a rolled up piece of pie crust. As I did, I saw Hermione dart behind a curtain in the back of the room. "Harry," I pointed in her direction as I spoke, "Hermione is back there."

"I don't see her," Harry looked around.

"That's because she's standing _behind_ the curtain," I explained and started to walk towards her. Harry followed me and we moved the curtain to join her in hiding. "What are you doing?" I asked, looking at her while she patted her hair down.

"Is my hair okay?" she asked nervously and I nodded. "I just escaped from Cormac under the mistletoe."

I didn't mean to, but I laughed and she shot me a dirty look.

"You shouldn't have come with him," Harry told her as he handed her one of the appetizers he'd grabbed from the plate.

"I know that," she took the food, "but I wanted to annoy Ron."

I gave her a sympathetic look, "So are you just going to hide behind a tapestry all night?"

Hermione shook her head, "No… just needed a moment."

The three of us carefully emerged from the curtain and I wasn't sure if anyone had seen us. I led us back into the main portion of the room while Hermione crouched behind Harry and looked around the room nervously. She saw Cormac walking near us and darted off to hide behind another group of people and raised an eyebrow while I looked at Harry. "So weird," was all I said.

"Sorry to interrupt the party," I looked away from Harry and towards the entrance to the room. Filch was walking in with Draco and clutching his sweater tightly. Draco jerked away from him and straightened his clothes out. "I found this one roaming the hallways, trying to crash your party." Draco's eyes darted about the room and I pitied him a little. Last year he'd been Umbridge's favorite student; this year, he didn't even receive an invite to Slughorn's Christmas party. "I was just wondering what you wanted to do with him?" Filch sounded little too happy to have found a student wandering the halls.

"Oh, it's all right," Slughorn stepped towards him, "You can stay for the party, boy." Filch looked disappointed and Snape walked over to Draco. He spoke to him, but everyone else had started talking again so I didn't hear what he said. They walked off together and from the corner of my eye, I could see Harry moving.

"I'll be right back," he whispered and then left the room.

I sighed deeply. I was now at a party I didn't want to come to and alone because Harry was chasing Draco and Snape. I looked around and was relieved to see Ginny and Dean standing not too far away. I walked over to them and Ginny asked where Harry was. I shrugged in response, not wanting to admit in front of Dean that he'd gone off after Draco. I stood with the two of them for a while, joking about how ridiculous the party was and voicing over the other conversations happening around the room. Eventually, I saw Harry walk back and excused myself from the couple, knowing that Harry probably wouldn't walk over to Ginny and Dean if they were together.

I approached him and he dropped his voice, telling me immediately what he'd just seen. "Snape made an Unbreakable Vow to help Malfoy with something, but Malfoy doesn't want his help. I know you haven't believed me before, but they're up to something," he looked around the room as he spoke to make sure no one else could hear him.

I bit my lip nervously. "Actually," I responded slowly, "I followed Draco a little yesterday." I felt weird and guilty admitting to it. "I didn't know where he'd gone, so I didn't expect to actually find him, but he was waiting for Crabbe and Goyle. He saw me and just told me 'don't'," I looked at Harry, anxiously awaiting a response.

"Don't?" he asked and I nodded, not able to offer anything else. Harry took a deep breath, "Do you know what an Unbreakable Vow is?"

I shook my head, I'd never heard of it before. Before Harry could continue, Slughorn walked up to us.

"Lovely to see that you two came here together," Slughorn's voice hinted that he thought we were on an actual date.

"Uh," Harry stumbled, clearly unsure of how to answer the question.

"We just came as friends," I jumped in for Harry.

Slughorn nodded, "Ah, I see. Well, having fun?"

We stayed stuck in conversation with Slughorn before Professor Sprout joined us as well. Harry and I answered their questions about classes, our interests, what we wanted to do next year and then were thankfully saved from further conversation when Slughorn was called over to another group. Harry and I found Hermione and Cormac and stayed with them for the remainder of the party, talking casually about things and insisting they stay with us every time Cormac suggested he and Hermione go off somewhere together.

The party ended late in the evening and Hermione parted from Cormac as quickly as she could. Harry and I made our way to the Common Room with her and she complained about Cormac the whole time. Walking into the Common Room, however, made her stop talking instantly. Sitting on one of the couches was Ron and Lavender, snuggling.

"See you in the morning," Hermione walked off towards the dormitory. I almost went after her, but decided to wait and see if Harry was staying in the Common Room or going to bed.

He walked over to the couch that Ron and Lavender were occupying. "Can we… talk… for a moment?" Harry sounded awkward as he spoke.

"Of course," Ron said. Harry made a face and Ron realized he meant without Lavender present. "Give us a moment?" he looked at Lavender.

She smiled, "I'm going to go to bed, actually. Goodnight Won-Won." I grimaced as she kissed him on the lips for too long and then skipped off to the dormitory. Walking over to the couch, I sat next to Ron and hoped that Hermione would already be in bed when Lavender walked in.

Harry sat down on the other side of Ron and began telling him about following Draco and Snape from the party and then ask what an Unbreakable Vow is.

"Unbreakable Vow?" Ron asked with a hint of surprise in his voice, "It's basically a promise that you have to keep or you… you die." Harry looked taken aback as Ron jumped into a story, "Fred actually tried to get me to make one when I was five. Only time I've ever seen my father get really angry. It was scary."

I smirked, of course Fred would have done something stupid like that in childhood.

"Don't you see," Harry spoke, clearly he hadn't paid attention to Ron's little story, "I was right. He has some sort of a mission and Snape made a Vow to help him."

"Back at this?" Ron rolled his eyes.

"Taylor even found him waiting in the hallway to meet Crabbe and Goyle secretly," Harry continued.

"Harry," I interrupted him a little, "I don't know what they were actually doing."

"Yeah, but he warned you to either not talk to him or follow him," Harry argued, sounding convinced he was right.

"He spoke to you?" Ron looked at me and I was a little surprised that he was talking directly to me; for weeks the only conversations we had were about school and I knew it was only because he couldn't ask Hermione.

"Uh, well… not really, it was one word," I felt like I needed to defend myself.

Ron stared at me, his eyebrows drawn together and I wasn't sure what he was thinking. "Did you follow him?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, he was acting strange," I explained.

The three of us sat in silence for a moment and then I heard a small tap on the window. Harry stood to let the owl into the Common Room and removed a letter from its foot. "For you," Harry tossed the letter in my direction.

"Fred?" Ron's voice sounded harsh and I looked at him with a confused expression. I thought we'd moved passed his issue with me and Fred writing. "Sorry," Ron mumbled, and I wondered if my face had looked more hurt by his tone than confused.

I looked down at the letter, not expecting Fred's large handwriting because I'd just written him yesterday. Instead, I saw my mother's small, neat penmanship. "It's my mother actually," I realized it would contain my flight information for my trip home in a couple of days.

Again, the three of us sat in silence for a few minutes. "I guess I'm going to head to bed," I stood up, not wanting to be a part of the silence any longer. Walking to the dormitory, I was almost looking forward to Christmas break. Maybe we all just needed some time away from each other.


	10. 10: Back to the Burrow

**Back to the Burrow**

When I woke up the next morning, Hermione was already out of bed and gone. After getting ready for the day, I thought I would find her in the Common Room, but she wasn't there either. I grabbed my bag and headed down to breakfast, assuming that she must already be there. I walked into the Great Hall and glanced up and down the Gryffindor table, but didn't see her. I did see Harry and Ron, which was unusual because Hermione and I usually beat them to breakfast. I walked over and sat down across from the boys, "Have y'all seen Hermione?"

Ron shook his head and Harry responded, "No, I figured you two were together somewhere since you weren't down here eating."

"She was gone when I woke up," I told them. I grabbed a biscuit, Hermione was probably in the library or avoiding Ron.

"When do you fly back from break?" Harry asked after we'd been eating for a moment.

I sat my biscuit down, realizing I'd forgotten to read the letter from my mother. I reached down and opened my bag, remembering that I slid it down next to a book before I climbed into bed last night. "I forgot to read it," I explained and opened the parchment. I read it quickly, scanning for the details, but I didn't see what I was looking for. I blinked rapidly a few times, confused by her letter, and started it from the beginning, this time reading carefully.

 _Hello dear,_

 _I hope school has been going well. Happy to hear that you're still keeping your grades up!_

 _I booked a flight for you yesterday, but as of this morning it's been cancelled. I could get you another flight, but they've put out an alert that all flights in the next two weeks have the possibility of being cancelled due to the awful weather you've been having there and along the East Coast._

 _I'd absolutely hate it if you got to the airport and found out your flight was cancelled and then got stuck there. For my own peace of mind so I'm not worrying about you for a whole day and then more if it does get cancelled, I'd prefer it if you went ahead and made plans to stay at Hogwarts or with one of your friends there. I know this is last minute, and I am so sorry, but I wouldn't be writing this if I wasn't truly worried about you getting stuck alone in the airport or random city if your flight was to get grounded._

 _Of course I'm going to miss you dearly, it'll take a week or so, but please let me know where you end up staying for the break. After I find out where you're staying, I'll try to send your present!_

 _I'm sad I have to wait longer to see you (something no mother enjoys), but I cannot wait for June now! I love you, sweetheart, and I hope you enjoy your break from school. I love you, Merry Christmas!_

 _Love, mom_

I set the letter down on top of my food. _I wasn't going home_? It seemed impossible and silly. I was magical but I couldn't get home for the holidays.

"Taylor? What's wrong?" as Harry spoke, I realized my expression must look confused.

"There's no flight," was all I said. I wondered where Hermione was. Term ended in two days and I needed to ask if I could stay with her for the break; she'd already decided she wouldn't be joining the Weasleys at all this year because of her fight with Ron.

"What?" Harry asked and I saw his hand reach across the table to grab the letter. He skimmed it with Ron looking over his shoulder. He was silent and then looked over at Ron.

"Well," I looked at Ron as he spoke, "you can stay with us, of course."

I was surprised by the invitation. Of course I'd stayed with the Weasleys before school started, but I assumed Ron wouldn't want me with him for the holidays because of the way he'd been treating me lately. "Thanks, Ron," I said.

He nodded and then went back to eating before adding, "Don't let me forget to write my mum and let her know."

I smiled, happy that I was returning to the Burrow with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. I knew that Hermione's parents were probably just as nice, but if I couldn't be with my own mother for the holidays then at least I could be with the family I knew the most in England. I finished eating and stood, ready to walk back to the Common Room with Harry and Ron.

"Won-Won!" I heard a voice I knew too well these days and saw Lavender skipping towards Ron. Before he had a chance to get up, she sat down on his lap and immediately kissed him. I turned away, a little disgusted.

"See ya later, Ron," I heard Harry say and knew that he didn't want to stick around any longer than I did. I walked down the length of the table and met up with Harry at the end. "Well, looks like we get to spend the holidays together," Harry smiled at me. If there was a bright side to not going home for the holidays, it was that I would get to spend more time with Harry and Ron the next few weeks. Hopefully, I thought, I was wrong about us all needing space from each other.

* * *

I spent my last evening packing a bag for the break. I decided I didn't want to transport my entire trunk, so I was folding sweaters and pants and setting socks, gloves, and scarves into a large bag. I reached for my schoolbag and grabbed my sketchpad. I held it, contemplating if I should even take it; I hadn't drawn in it once since returning to Hogwarts in September. I put it in the bag, I took it everywhere and never knew if I'd have downtime at the Burrow or not. I reached into my schoolbag again to grab my pencils when I saw a letter sitting at the bottom. I'd received one from Fred later in the day yesterday telling me to have a great break and asking when I was flying back from the States. I hadn't responded since in the morning I would be at his mother's house.

I looked over at Hermione who was packing her bag next to me. "Are you excited to go home?" I asked her.

She shrugged. For the past few days she'd been mostly quiet; I'd never even figured out where she was yesterday morning when she wasn't at breakfast. "Yeah," she finally spoke, "it'll be nice to have a break from school. Are you sad you can't go home?" Hermione looked over at me with a sympathetic look.

I nodded, "A little."

A small smile spread across her face, "Excited to see Fred?"

I smiled back, but honestly, I hadn't thought about it too much. I knew I would see him, but I wasn't _choosing_ to see him. It was forced because there were snowstorms happening in parts of the world I'd be flying through. I knew it would be fun to spend time with him, though.

* * *

On the train the next morning, we couldn't even all sit in the same compartment. Hermione wished Harry a happy holidays and then walked in the opposite direction of him and Ron.

"I'm going to sit with her, see you when we get there," I turned to follow her. It was irritating how often things like this happened, and I felt guilty for being irritated because I knew Hermione was hurt by Ron's actions. I followed her into a compartment with Neville, Ginny, and Dean. Ginny and Dean talked for most of the ride, so I mostly just listened to them, occasionally asking Neville questions about how he would be spending his break. When we reached the platform, I exited the train with Hermione. It was weird saying bye to her because I'd never spent a lot of time with just Harry and Ron, and she wouldn't be around the next two weeks for me to talk to.

I walked over to Harry, Ron and Ginny who were standing with Mr. Weasley, waiting for me to join them. "Hello, Taylor!" Mr. Weasley pat me on the back and then grabbed for the bag that was draped over my shoulder, "Happy to hear you'll be joining us for the holidays!" I thanked him for taking my bag and wondered how true the sentiment was; for him and Mrs. Weasley, I was just another person to house and feed during a stressful time of the year. We began walking outside towards a black car and Mr. Weasley explained it was a Ministry car – he was able to drive one so he could transport Harry without having to stay at the Leaky Cauldron or use Muggle transportation. "So tell me," Mr. Weasley spoke as I settled in to the backseat of the car next to Harry, "how is it that the Muggle airplane couldn't fly?"

I smiled, appreciating Mr. Weasley's question. Mr. Weasley started driving, a little too quickly for the streets of London I thought, and I answered him, "Airplanes can't fly in bad weather. There was a possibility of a storm here and the east coast in America, which I would fly through to reach Texas, is also having snowstorms."

"A bit early in the year for snowstorms, isn't it?" I hadn't yet realized it, but Mr. Weasley was right.

"Yeah, actually."

We were in the car for over two hours, but it passed quickly with Mr. Weasley's presence. He asked questions and kept our conversation going, which I enjoyed because I didn't have time to think about when I would see Fred. I knew if I thought about it too much, I would make myself nervous like I had for our time together in Hogsmeade.

At some point during our drive, we stopped at a small diner for food. By the time we reached the Burrow, it was late and we found Mrs. Weasley dosing off on her dining table waiting for us. There was a cot already set up for me in Ginny's room and we were encouraged to head to bed right away. She laid down, and I wasn't sure if she went to sleep but she didn't say anything. In fact, she'd been really quiet on the drive from London as well. I laid on the cot and stayed awake for at least an hour, alone with my thoughts.

The next morning, I woke up to Mrs. Weasley walking through the house, "Wake up! There's work to be done!" I yawned, instantly regretting that I didn't sleep right away last night. Looking at Ginny, I could see that she didn't rest well either. Her eyes looked red and I wondered if I should ask if she was okay.

Ginny got dressed quickly. "Enjoy the quiet while you can," she announced, "I'm sure Phlegm will be here later today."

I'd forgotten that I wouldn't just be staying with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Ron and Harry – but Fleur and possibly more of the Weasley siblings as well. After taking a few minutes to get dressed and ready, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen with Ginny to see that Harry and Ron were already being put to work.

"Good morning, lovelies," Mrs. Weasley smiled towards me and Ginny, "Since the boys will be helping me in the kitchen, would you mind assisting with laundry and dusting?"

"Not a problem," I assured her. Back home I always hated doing housework and couldn't wait to one day do it magically and quickly, but while with the Weasleys I would literally do anything Mrs. Weasley asked as a small thank you for letting me stay with her family.

I followed Ginny through the house. Dusting was easy, and while we did so, Ginny told me about a fight she had with Dean after we got off the Hogwarts Express. Apparently the two of them bickered frequently, but Ginny insisted Dean was funny and kind and that's why she was always willing to make up with him. By the time we moved on to folding laundry, I knew lunch had to be getting close because I was getting hungry. Ginny suggested we take a break and see what Harry and Ron were up to, so we put down the clothes and walked towards the kitchen. Before we opened the door, I could hear laughter and recognized it immediately: Fred and George.

Suddenly, I got nervous and I let Ginny lead by opening the door. As she did, I heard a clang of metal or steel and saw something fly through the air.

"Well, we were going to offer to bewitch the knife you just threw at us to finish your job, but never mind!" Fred announced. I looked around the room, confused as to what Ginny and I had just walked into. Ron was huffing while holding a sprout and Harry was sitting next to him with a small grin, peeling his own sprout. Fred and George were standing near us, both with characteristically large smiles. When the door closed behind us, all of the boys turned.

"Ginny! Taylor, how are you two?" George smiled as he acknowledged us. Fred had his arms crossed and my heart skipped a beat when I saw him looking at me through squinted eyes and with a sly smile on his face.

Ginny stepped further into the room, "Good, but what's going on in here?"

"Nothing," George shrugged, "Just asking Ron here about his love life. Speaking of, how's yours?"

I watched Ginny roll her eyes and then looked back at Fred, who was still looking at me the same way. I heard Ron start to beg George to bewitch the knives to finish the sprouts and at the same time, Fred walked towards me and nodded towards the door so I followed him out of the kitchen and into the sitting room. Fred took a few steps into the room and then turned around. His arms were still crossed and he still had the sly smile on his face. "Now tell me," he started, his voice sounding sarcastic and dry, "how it is that you are staying in _my home_ for your break, but I had to find out from my _mother_."

I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling largely. "It was really last minute!" I defended myself, "My own mother told me two days ago I wasn't going home."

His small, sly smile slowly spread across his face into a large smirk, causing an extra wrinkle on his right cheek. "Well," his voice sounded happy, "what a pleasant surprise for me, then."

I heard another door and looked over to see Mrs. Weasley come in from a different room. "Oh," she stopped walking when she saw Fred, "I didn't know you and George were back already. Unfortunately, there's one more thing I need that I forgot to tell you to get." Fred raised his eyebrow at her and she smiled sweetly, "After lunch, would you and George mind making one more trip to the market?"

"Of course not," Fred assured her.

"Thank you, dear," she then walked by us towards the kitchen, "Come on, I have an announcement."

I looked back to Fred who was already smiling at me again. He waited for me to turn around and we followed his mother back into the kitchen where Ron and Harry were still peeling and Ginny and George were talking.

"All right," Mrs. Weasley came to a stop, "listen up so I only have to say this once. Bill and Fleur are coming tonight – so please be kind to Fleur, Ginny. Fred, George, I'm sorry, dears, but Remus is also arriving tonight, so Bill will have to squeeze in with you two." I looked over at Fred, I hadn't realized he'd be staying here for the break and my hands got clammy as I thought about seeing him all day every day for two weeks. "Then, as Charlie isn't coming home, that just leaves Harry and Ron in the attic, and if Fleur shares with Ginny and Taylor… everyone should be comfortable," she hesitated, "Well, they'll have a bed, anyway."

As I wondered if Fred and George were staying for the entire break or just until Christmas, I listened to Mrs. Weasley instruct Harry and Ron to take a break from peeling. She made us all sandwiches for a quick lunch and then sent Fred and George off with a small list of items she needed from the market.

Even though I thought about him almost constantly, I didn't see Fred much for the rest of the day because Mrs. Weasley kept me busy. I assumed it was due to the amount of guests staying in her home, but she seemed more stressed out and frazzled than usual. That night after dinner, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George and I all sat around in the attic talking and joking. I was afraid that Ron might act weird being around both me and Fred, but he didn't. In fact, I was reminded of last year when we were all at Hogwarts together and would stay up late in the Common Room. Even though we were all together as a group, I kept catching Fred look at me, which would always pull me away from my comparisons to last year. I thought we might get a moment alone eventually, but Ginny dragged me to her room so she wouldn't have to endure Fleur alone.

Thankfully, Fleur was already asleep on her cot on the other side of Ginny's bed when we quietly snuck in.

"Don't wake her," Ginny whispered.

"Obviously," I whispered back. I climbed in to the bed, still thinking about Fred and what it would be like when we did get to be alone.

* * *

The following day was Christmas Eve and it passed quickly. Mrs. Weasley had jobs assigned to everyone staying in her home to assist with the large meal and general cleaning. I was paired with Ginny for most of it and, again, I didn't see much of Fred – or anyone else for that matter – until dinner that evening. Even at dinner, Fred chose to sit diagonally from me across the table, and a part of me wondered if he was distancing himself on purpose under the watchful eye of his mother.

I scraped the last of the potatoes off my plate and looked over to see that I'd beaten most people to finishing my meal. The Weasley clan and their company were all loud and talkative, usually leading to me clearing my plate first.

"More potatoes?" Ginny asked from across the table as she motioned towards the empty plate in front of me.

I shrugged, "Sure." Mrs. Weasley's potatoes were one of my new favorite foods – close to the top of my list with the baked ham at Hogwarts. I lifted my plate up and Ginny put a decent sized spoonful of food on to my plate and I began eating once again.

"Don't eat too much there," I looked up as Fred spoke directly to me for the first time today, "Don't want to fill up before pie." As usual, he was smirking while he spoke.

I felt my nose crinkle up as I thought about pie, something I'd always passed on in the Weasley home. "I actually don't like pie," I admitted a little reluctantly. I thought back to the time Harry asked if I wanted the last few bites of his slice and he was appalled by my answer.

Just as I'd expected, Fred's mouth fell open in surprise. "You don't like pie?" he gasped and spoke loudly, "Are you _human?_ "

I rolled my eyes at his dramatics, "Yes, I'm human."

He huffed and smiled a little, shaking his head from side to side, "Americans…"

I ate the last bit of my potatoes more slowly and as everyone else cleared their plates and helped themselves to large pieces of pie, I enjoyed my last few bites.

"If you don't like pie, then what do you like for dessert?" Fred spoke to me again between bites of rhubarb pie.

"Um," I started, knowing that what I was about to say would only be met with more criticism, "I don't know, I'm not really a dessert person."

Fred dramatically dropped his fork, causing his mother to snap her head and look at him. "Not a dessert person! Why do we even associate with her?" He looked over at George with a play-exasperated look on his face.

"I don't know Freddie," George smiled as he shrugged, "You tell me." George's smile turned into a sly smirk and I realized that George was teasing his own twin.

As I began to feel a little uncomfortable at being the butt of George's joke, wondering now what exactly Fred told George about me, Fred continued to look at George for a moment and even raised his eyebrow before finally turning back towards me, "No worries, I'm sure one day you'll see the light."

Mrs. Weasley stood up and began clearing the table with a flick of her wand. As everyone at the table finished their desserts, Weasleys and their guests began to move into the sitting room where Mrs. Weasley already had her radio playing loudly. She sat down in an armchair and rested her hands on her heart, smiling warmly while singing along to the song that was, for me, a bit too loud and overdone.

I walked over to the other side of the sitting room and sat down on a couch that wasn't yet occupied. Not more than a few seconds after I sat down, I felt the couch move and looked over to see Fred sitting in the spot next to me.

"Wanted to sit by me, did ya?" he had his arm thrown casually over the back of the couch behind me and his mouth was effortlessly thrown into a large, lopsided grin.

I looked at him for a moment, realizing that he looked so natural and comfortable in this element – easily flirting with me and playing games. "You caught me," I responded, playing along as I usually chose to, "I just knew this was your favorite couch and the _only_ place you'd sit in the _entire_ room."

Fred feigned surprise and gasped, "Keep your voice down, America. My family is right there, do you really want them to hear how you're plotting to seduce me one seating arrangement at a time?"

I laughed and shook my head, wondering how he always found the words he did. "Fred, you are – "

"Mouth-wateringly handsome? Too good to be true? I know," again, he smirked.

I exhaled heavily and laughed again. "I was going to say ridiculous," after I said it, he raised an eyebrow.

"Ridiculously irresistible…" he raised both of his eyebrows up and down quickly a couple of times at the same moment George asked who was up for a game of Exploding Snap.

Ginny sat down on the other side of Fred and eagerly agreed to a game. Chairs were pushed closer to the couch and George, Ron and Harry sat in them. George pulled the cards from his pocket and I remembered him and Fred frequently playing the game last year at Hogwarts.

"Taylor, you in?" George asked as he began dispersing the cards.

I shook my head, "I'll watch. Maybe I'll learn how to play."

Fred gave me one last smirking look and then turned towards the rest of the group to begin the game. I sat and watched them play several rounds while Mrs. Weasley joyously reminisced on dancing to the song that was on the radio with Mr. Weasley when they were only teenagers. I smiled at her, appreciating her spirit and love for her husband. Looking at Mr. Weasley, it warmed my heart to the see the admiration wasn't one-sided, as evidenced by the way he looked at her. It wasn't something I'd seen often; my own parents hardly ever spoke about their younger days and they certainly weren't the type to dance in the middle of the living room to "their song." In fact, I'd often wondered how they'd even ended up together at all.

I began fidgeting slightly with my fingers and covered my hands with my sweater so no one could see. I wanted to draw and wished I had my sketchbook with me downstairs so I could draw the sitting room of the Burrow right now: Mr. and Mrs. Weasley laughing and dancing; Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, and Harry playing a childlike game; Lupin smiling from a chair; and even Bill and Fleur as she made fun of the music Mrs. Weasley loved.

Since I couldn't draw it, I looked around and tried to soak up as much of my surroundings into my memories as I could. It wasn't a holiday with my parents, but I felt comfortable, warm and at home.


	11. 11: Just Fred

**Just Fred**

Shortly after appreciating my surroundings so warmly, Fleur jumped into an impression of the singer on the radio which promptly rushed everyone off to bed. Ginny and I ran up the stairs, laughing and also horrified by Fleur's impression. As we laid in bed, I thought back to earlier in the evening and how much fun I was having at the Weasley's after only two days and how easy and comfortable Fred was to talk to. Furthermore, I thought back to how easily he flirted and joked with me.

"Ginny?" before I really thought it through, I was speaking her name.

"Yeah?" I could hear her rolling over in her bed even though I couldn't see her. I wasn't as comfortable with Ginny as I was with Hermione, and Ginny still didn't even know the truth about me and Draco, but I trusted her nonetheless.

"Can I ask you something about Fred?" I took a deep breath. "But if you don't want to talk about him it's completely understandable," I added quickly, realizing she might not want to talk about her brother with me.

In response, Ginny laughed, "Of course you can."

I smiled, glad for her response. "Well… I guess I was just wondering if he's had a lot of girlfriends?" I grimaced as I asked it, feeling weird and guilty.

"Girlfriends?" Ginny sounded shocked while she repeated the words, "Honestly, I don't think he's ever had an actual girlfriend. Why do you ask?"

 _Never had a girlfriend_? That wasn't the response I was exactly expecting, but I realized I was smiling. "I don't know," given her answer, my question now seemed silly, "He just seems so comfortable with himself and around me. I would have thought it meant that he was used to girls or something." There was silence for a moment. "I guess that sounds weird," I added when Ginny didn't say anything.

"It doesn't sound weird, it makes sense," Ginny responded immediately and then went quiet for another moment and I began chewing my lip. "I think," when she finally spoke, she sounded thoughtful, "Fred has always been comfortable with himself. Not necessarily because of experiences, but because he's just Fred."

I realized I was smiling again as I thought about her words. My heart was pitter-pattering lightly in my chest and the only word I could think of to describe how I was feeling was relief. "Thanks, Ginny," I said.

"No problem," she answered and then we both went quiet for the night.

I rolled over on my cot and pulled the blankets around me tightly. I remembered assuming that Fred was so easy-going around me last year because he spoke to every girl the way he spoke to me, and maybe he did, but it wasn't because he'd been with a lot of girls before. I smiled again and then went to sleep.

* * *

Ginny and I walked down the stairs the next morning after Mrs. Weasley's rallying cry that we all wake up and start our days. I'd put on a green sweater and blue jeans and was happy to see Ginny dressed similarly so I didn't stand out in the middle of everyone else wearing robes.

We reached the sitting room where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Fleur, and Lupin were already seated around the room on couches and chairs.

"Merry Christmas, dears" Mrs. Weasley said from her spot on the loveseat next to her husband.

"Merry Christmas!" I responded eagerly and sat on the couch I'd occupied with Fred and Ginny the night before. Ginny sat next to me while we waited for everyone else to join downstairs. Mrs. Weasley began grabbing gifts from under the tree and handing them out to those of us in the room and I felt a strange pang in my chest. I wasn't sad to not be receiving gifts, I felt guilty that I was having so much fun here instead of exchanging gifts with my parents.

Ron, Harry, Fred and George finally joined us in the sitting room and Harry and Ron sat on the floor near me and Ginny with Fred and George taking chairs nearby.

"Ron, here's another for you that arrived by owl early this morning," Mrs. Weasley handed Ron a small gift. "And another for you, as well," she also handed a small package to Harry. I watched her hand two larger packages to Fred and George and then walk towards me with a package only slightly smaller than theirs. "I apologize for it not being much," Mrs. Weasley smiled encouragingly at me while she gave me the gift, "I didn't have enough notice to make you a sweater but I hope you still enjoy it."

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," I was so overcome with surprise and gratitude that I almost missed the package as she handed it to me. I looked at her kind smile and felt appreciative for receiving anything, "Thank you, so much."

"Not a problem, dearie," she gave my arm a small squeeze and then turned to continue handing out gifts. I couldn't stop smiling and when I looked up, I saw Fred smiling at me as well. I could feel myself starting to blush, so I looked down at my gift and picked at the wrapping paper while I listened to everyone else start opening their presents. I heard laughter from Harry and looked up to see Ron holding a gold necklace with a large "sweetheart" charm on the front. Before I could stop myself, I laughed out loud at the gift.

"Is that from Lavender?" I managed the words between giggles.

Ron rolled his eyes as a response and made a huffing noise. "I can't believe she thought I'd like this," he mumbled while he turned the necklace over in his hands.

"I received a parcel of maggots from Kreacher, and I would still take the maggots over that gift any day," Harry joked and wiped away a tear that was running down his cheek from laughing.

I could tell Ron was agitated, so I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. Then, everyone began opening their large gifts from Mrs. Weasley. Everyone in the room, except for me and Fleur, received a different colored sweater with the initial of their first name on it. Fleur made a foul face upon realizing this and I noticed that she didn't have any sort of a gift from Mrs. Weasley at all.

"What did you get from mum?" Ginny asked as she put her sweater on over her shirt. I tore the paper away from my gift and revealed a navy scarf with thin maroon and white stripes every few inches. "That's beautiful," Ginny reached over and touched the fringe that hung from the end of the scarf, "and it kind of matches my sweater!" I smiled and looked over at Ginny's maroon sweater with a white G on the front.

"I hope you like," I looked up to see Mrs. Weasley standing nearby, "I chose the colors because they're the ones on the American flag… Well, a little darker, of course. I thought navy and maroon looked better than blue and red."

I watched her explain her choice while she smiled warmly at me. "Thank you," I said, biting my lip, "This was more than you needed to do for me."

"Oh, pish posh!" Mrs. Weasley walked over and leaned down, giving me an awkward hug while I sat on the couch, "You were deserving of a gift!" I hugged Mrs. Weasley back as best as I could, overcome with how kind and thoughtful her gift was. She stood up and walked back towards her husband across the room and I threw the scarf over my shoulders. While I waited for everyone to finish opening the rest of their gifts, I played with the ends of my scarf, amazed at how beautiful it was.

When it was finally time for lunch, everyone who received one made their way to the kitchen wearing their sweater from Mrs. Weasley. Fleur acted unbothered by not receiving one and I still had the scarf thrown around my neck. I sat down near the end of the table and smiled when Fred sat down next to me.

"Nice scarf," he raised his eyebrows as he said it and I smiled in return. As everyone started their meal, I jumped upon hearing a squeal from Mrs. Weasley.

"Arthur!" she was yelling, "Look! It's Percy!"

I was confused; last year, Percy had sent Ron a letter urging him to distance himself from Harry. Ron didn't speak of him much, but from what I could tell, Percy still hadn't come around to siding with his family and was still the Minister's right hand man. Before there was even a knock on the door, Mrs. Weasley threw it open and embraced her son. Having never seen Percy before, I was observant of his appearance and action. Whereas every other Weasley appeared open and friendly, Percy came off as unsure and cold. While Mrs. Weasley embraced him tightly in her arms, Percy simply stood there and placed only one hand lightly on her back.

I heard a noise and looked back at the doorway to see a man I recognized from the Daily Prophet: the new Minister of Magic. "So sorry for the intrusion, but we were out on business and Percy noted that your home was nearby. While in the area, he insisted that we stop by of course," the man spoke as he stepped into the Burrow.

"Oh, Percy!" Mrs. Weasley had stopped clutching him, but now hugged him again once more. I felt awkward for witnessing the familial encounter because it was clear to me that Percy did not want to be here, regardless of what the Minister said.

"We only have about five minutes, so I'll leave you to your family, Percy," the Minister said, "You there, why don't you give me a tour of the grounds?" I looked across the table to see that he was speaking to Harry. Harry stood up slowly and I felt my heartbeat increase; there was no way he picked Harry at random.

The two left the room and Mrs. Weasley invited Percy to take her place at the table while she rushed about to get him a plate and cup. She was asking Percy about work and life, but most of his answers were either short or simple shrugs. I was taken aback by his behavior; Mrs. Weasley had never shown me anything but kindness and here her own son was being short and curt.

I gulped and looked next to me. Fred's face was far from his characteristic joyful grin and dancing eyes; instead, his eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth was twisted in what I assumed was disgust. Looking around, I discovered Fred wasn't alone. George, Mr. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny were all staring at Percy with stony expressions. Mrs. Weasley continued to enthusiastically speak to Percy and as he continued to give her the cold shoulder, I could feel the tension in the room growing.

"Maybe in a few days, when you have some time away from work, you can come by for a longer visit?" Mrs. Weasley smiled as she stood next to him.

"I think…" Percy trailed off before starting his sentence again, "I think I'll still be busy in a few days." Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Fred's hand that was resting on the table turn into a fist that he clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. Suddenly, something flew across the table and I jumped as it hit Percy in the face. I looked passed Fred and saw Ginny next to him, realizing she had thrown parsnips at him.

"REALLY?!" Percy's chair fell over from how quickly he stood up. At that moment, the Minister and Harry entered the kitchen and I looked back at Ginny, in awe of her action. Percy stormed towards the door and the Minister wished the family a 'Merry Christmas' before following him out.

"World's _biggest_ prat," I looked sympathetically over at Fred as he muttered the words under his breath.

The remainder of the meal was eaten in mostly silence, with everyone tenderly picking over their food. Mrs. Weasley had excused herself and was followed by Mr. Weasley. I knew she was upset and it hurt me to think that she might be crying. Once Lupin stood up, Harry asked him to speak and the two left the room. I fidgeted with my hands, feeling uncomfortable for having witnessed the family's unwelcomed surprise.

"Come with me," Fred nudged my arm and stood up. I nodded and then followed him out of the kitchen and up the stairs into a room I assumed was his and George's. Fred walked over towards a bunkbed in the corner of the room and sat down on the bottom mattress. I walked over and stood near the foot of the bed, unsure if I should sit down with him or not. "You don't have to stand," Fred smiled as he pat the spot on the bed next to him.

I walked over and slowly sat down, wondering why we were in his bedroom. Fred reached under the bed and pulled out a small box wrapped in paper, but I was still thinking about the incident downstairs. "Are you okay?" I asked while Fred held the box in his hands, "After what happened with Percy?"

Fred looked at me for a moment and shrugged. "I didn't expect him to show up but when he did, his behavior didn't surprise me," he wasn't smiling any longer as he looked at me, "Just infuriating, the way he treats my mum." Fred looked away and down towards the floor.

I smiled apologetically, knowing I couldn't say anything to change or help the situation. "It's awful, she doesn't deserve it," I finally agreed.

Fred looked back up at me and his mouth moved into a forced smirk; after a moment, he moved the box he'd grabbed from under the bed towards me. "Well, I didn't come up here to talk about my ass of a brother, I came up here to give you something. Merry Christmas," I took the box while Fred's face changed from a forced smirk into a softer smile.

"I…" I started, feeling guilty that he'd gotten me something, "I didn't get you anything. I'm sorry."

Fred shrugged, "So? I didn't expect one. Just open it, I saw them and thought of you."

I carefully unwrapped the small box and then held up its contents. "You bought me mittens?" I smiled at the knitted navy pair.

"Not just any mittens," he corrected, "but _self-heating_ mittens. And by complete coincidence, they match the scarf my mother made you." He flicked the navy scarf that was still hanging around my neck as he said it.

I smiled and started fidgeting with the mittens in my hands, "Thank you, Fred."

He returned the smile, seemingly pleased with himself. "Want to give them a try?" he asked optimistically.

I took a deep breath, realizing he wanted to go outside. "Sure," I said a little hesitantly.

"Come on, it's not that cold," Fred stood up and grabbed a hat from the table by his bed.

" _Not that cold?_ " I repeated him and rolled my eyes, "Whatever you say. Let me go grab my coat." I stood up and left Fred's room and headed towards Ginny's. While there, I put on a thicker pair of socks and my coat, tightened my new scarf from Mrs. Weasley around my neck, and grabbed my hat.

I walked out of the room to see Fred waiting for me in the hallway, "Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," I dramatically put on my hat and new mittens as I spoke. We walked down the stairs and headed outside into the field next to the Burrow. The cold instantly infiltrated my body as we stepped outside, but I was thankful that it wasn't windy. I shoved my hands into my coat pockets as we walked out into the field some.

"Does it ever snow in Texas?" Fred looked over at me curiously.

"Well Texas is huge, so the weather is really different all over. But not the part I'm from. In fact, I'd never even seen actual snow until I went to Hogwarts," I admitted, feeling a little silly.

"You'd never seen snow?!" Fred cried out, "You were fifteen!" He stopped walking and stared at me with his mouth gaping open. I nodded in response and he shook his head. "So have you built a snowman or had a snowball fight?"

"Nope," I answered definitively.

"Huh," Fred shook his head, clearly still appalled. After a moment, I watched him bend down and scoop up a small pile of snow into his hands. There was about half an inch on the ground and he didn't pick up enough to reveal the grass underneath. I watched him stand up and pat the snow around in his hands, creating a small ball. Then, he looked up at me with a funny smile on his face and gently tossed the snowball at me.

I jumped back in surprise as the ball hit my leg while he bent down to grab more snow. "Seriously, Fred?" I asked him.

"Yes, _seriously_ ," he laughed and threw the second one at me, "What are you going to do about it?" I could hear the challenge in his voice and set my jaw in defiance. I bent down and grabbed as much snow as I could and quickly patted it into a snowball. I stood up and threw it in Fred's direction but he dodged it while laughing. I huffed and bent down to grab more. When I looked up to throw it at him, I saw that Fred had walked several feet away. I took a few steps towards him and he laughed harder and took off in a light run away from me.

"Hey!" I yelled out in surprise and ran after him, trying to get close enough to throw the snowball. While running, I saw him reach into his coat and pull out his wand. Before I could finish my thought about what he might be doing, I felt something hit me in the back. I spun around just as another snowball hit me on the shoulder and I realized that he must have enchanted snowballs to hit me from behind. I started to turn back around so I could find him when I felt an arm wrap around me and then a shock of cold touch my cheek. I jerked away and fell to the ground.

On the ground, I quickly wiped the excess snow away from my cheek as Fred sat down on the ground in front of me. He was breathing heavily, as was I, and smiling wickedly. "Well," he said between breaths, "now you've had a snowball fight. You lost terribly, but with practice you'll improve."

"You used magic!" I said accusingly, "That's like cheating!"

"Or like using my resources," Fred said thoughtfully, "Besides, no such thing as cheating in war." I sighed heavily and rubbed my cheek one more time where Fred had smashed a snowball. "How are the mittens working?"

I stopped rubbing my face instantly and held my hands out. "Perfectly," I said as I moved my fingers around inside, "my fingers aren't numb!" I was pleasantly surprised to find they actually worked and began to play with the snow in front of me, now unafraid of my hands getting cold. "Growing up, I always thought snow would be magical," I admitted and then grimaced, "That sounds cheesy." I heard Fred laugh at me and then continued, "Well, anyway, it's nice to play with it and actually enjoy it instead of wishing I was warm and inside."

Fred was silent after I spoke, but I could feel him staring at me. I peered up cautiously and saw that he was watching me play with the snow with a small smile on his face.

"Can I tell you something?" he asked, and I was surprised at how genuine his question sounded. I nodded quickly and it took him a small moment before speaking again. "Well, it's selfish," his smile faltered a little.

I furrowed my eyebrows together, "What do you mean?"

He smiled gently at me again, "I'm sorry you can't be with your parents, really, I am… but I'm happy you're here." As soon as he said the words, I could feel heat rise in my cheeks as I began to blush. I looked down quickly, embarrassed that he might see and hoped my face was already red from the cold. "America," I looked back up at him slowly as he quietly spoke his nickname for me, "I really like you." I bit my lip and gulped. I knew he did, it was obvious by his actions over the past few months, but actually hearing him say it caused my heartrate to speed up. Last year, I'd never once been nervous around Fred, but here I was, so anxious that my stomach was in knots.

One of his gloved hands reached out and rested on my cheek, just like he'd done the day I'd seen him in Hogsmeade. Even though my face was cold, I could feel his thumb move over my hot and blushing cheekbone. However, instead of moving his hand away, this time, Fred leaned in and kissed me.


End file.
